Chess in Pembrokeshire was always a very popular participation sport, with strong clubs in Haverfordwest, Fishguard and Pembroke amongst others, with Haverfordwest producing several Welsh Junior Chess Champions.

However about 5 years ago the game went into decline with almost all clubs closing and leaving just one club, Pembrokeshire Chess Club, in Steynton, Milford Haven.

So in April of 2025 it was decided to try and revitalise the game in the county and on May 1, 2025 Fishguard Chess Club opened its doors.

The membership grew so quickly that within 6 weeks it had to move to a larger venue in Fishguard and now has over 50 members, including 17 junior players. It is not unusual for over 25 players to attend its club nights. It has grown quickly from nothing to becoming the largest Chess Club in Wales, west of Llanelli.

Fishguard Chess Club (FCC) is now also playing in the Dyfed Chess League and is still (thus far) the only club to take points from the current champions,Cardigan Chess Club!

In order to help improve players, FCC also runs in-house competitions and is proud to have organised the First Fishguard Rapidplay Chess Tournament which will take place in Fishguard on Saturday, April 25. This will be the first non-school tournament in Pembrokeshire for 6 years, a big step in revitalising the game in Pembrokeshire.

Not wishing to sit on its laurels and to maintain momentum, it is shortly to announce it will be running the Pembrokeshire Junior Rapidplay Chess Championship in Fishguard on August 15. Another first for chess in Pembrokeshire.

The next stage was to open more clubs in Pembrokeshire. So in October 2025 Haverfordwest Chess Club came into existence. It was a similar story to Fishguard in terms of popularity and has also had to move to more suitable premises. It now has over 35 members and is attracting new members every week. It has already played its first competitive match, against Fishguard, and is hoping to play even more matches soon.

The third Club to be opened was Narberth Chess club, which only started on February 5 but has already attracted 27 members. Early days, but a fantastic start.

The next clubs planned are Tenby Chess club in May 2026, then Pembroke Chess Club in September 2026; and the St. Davids Chess Club at the turn of the year.

So in the last nine months the three newest clubs in Pembrokeshire have already attracted over 110 new club chess players, with 35 of those being juniors! This shows that there is still a real interest in the game in Pembrokeshire.

Hopefully this is just the start of the re-emergence of Chess in Pembrokeshire and putting the game back where it deserves to be.

If anyone would like further information on the new clubs, the proposed clubs or want to know more about being part of chess in Pembrokeshire please email Kevin Heady at [email protected]