Knight Moves At Burnaby Park

Burnaby Park SAT6AUG22

atest press release from Cllr Stephen Stokes, issued on Monday, August 8th 2022…

The first Greystones Chess Session took place on Saturday, August 6th.

The location was the chess tables in the southwest corner of the Burnaby Park, the event being organised by Cllr. Stephen Stokes and Bernadette Stokes. It was well attended, with all the additional seating and tables in full use.

Cllr. Stokes stated: “It was great to have so many people take part. Our thanks to Wicklow County Council who installed chess tables around County Wicklow. The chess players of County Wicklow really appreciate them, so we wanted to do something positive to encourage their use. Hopefully this will raise awareness that the chess tables are open for use.”

Open chess sessions are taking place in the Burnaby Park, Greystones every Saturday in August from 10am to 12pm. Cllr. Stephen Stokes will be offering a free lesson to beginners on the basic rules of chess from 10am to 10.30am. No experience is required.

Cllr. Stokes added: “A special thank you to all those that brought an extra seat with them. It helped a lot as the event was standing room only for a while. What was also wonderful was the great range of people that attended. We had great fun and the good weather helped too. Having an open chess session also raised awareness with passers-by.”

During the Covid 19 pandemic chess underwent a huge online boom. This was further boosted by the Queens Gambit on Netflix. Cllr. Stephen Stokes concluded: “Chess is a great game. It tests your patience and logic. However with a return to live events, chess must be ready to adapt again to over the board events. The open chess sessions in Greystones are a small part of this bigger picture.”

It is expected that an additional two chess tables will be installed in each Wicklow Municipal District in 2023, including in the Greystones Municipal District.

Anyone seeking more information about chess can contact [email protected].