Sydney has been playing organised chess since before World War I. Norths Chess Club has met every Tuesday night since 1908, and Sydney Academy of Chess now runs more than fifteen junior clubs scattered across the metro area. That is a lot of choice. Finding the best chess classes in Sydney means sorting the academies that show up every single week from the ones that are really just a logo and a contact form.
The best chess classes in Sydney in 2026 are Kingdom of Chess, Sydney Academy of Chess, Trainstein Chess College, Norwest Chess Academy, and Norths Chess Club. One teaches kids online with grandmaster-level coaches, and the other four are Sydney institutions, each with its own coach, history, and regulars. For the wider state and national picture, our guide to chess classes in Melbourne shows how the market looks one state over.
Why Structured Chess Coaching Matters in Sydney
- Builds real focus: kids who train chess regularly carry that concentration straight into the classroom, not just onto the board.
- Builds patience: sitting with a losing position for twenty minutes teaches patience that a fast-scrolling app never will.
- Builds resilience: losing a rated game and coming back to analyse it teaches a kid to sit with failure instead of running from it.
- Structured beats casual: a Tuesday-night social club is great for playing, but a level-based curriculum is built for actually improving.
- Compounds fast: coaches running a structured program tend to see real change within a school term, not years.
- Removes the commute problem: Sydney stretches from Penrith to Palm Beach, and for a lot of families an online lesson is the difference between fitting chess in and skipping it entirely.
1. Kingdom of Chess
Kingdom of Chess is a premium online chess academy founded by Arena Grandmaster Chandrajeet Rajawat, who started out coaching four or five kids in a small room in Udaipur, India. The academy now trains 10,000-plus students across 30-plus countries, and for Sydney parents the time zone actually works in their favour: Australia sits ahead of the coaches, so a child's after-school hour lands in the middle of the coaching team's working day. A student in Parramatta gets the same GM-led curriculum as a student in Mosman. Postcode stops being the deciding factor.
The coaching roster does the heavy lifting. GM Diptayan Ghosh (ELO 2577), part of India's gold-medal team at the World Youth U-16 Olympiad, and IM Sanket Chakravarthy (ELO 2303) lead a fully FIDE-certified faculty. Classes run live over video, never pre-recorded, and students move through five structured levels from Pawn to King. Families juggling a Sydney school run, weekend sport, and homework do not need to add a Saturday drive to Burwood on top of it.
Information
- Address: Fully online; accessible from anywhere in Greater Sydney
- Website: www.kingdomofchess.com
- Google Rating: 4.9
- Student Base: 10,000+ students across 30+ countries
- Mode: Live online classes
- Courses Offered: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Elite level programs
- Programs: Group classes, weekly GM masterclasses, internal academy tournaments
- Best For: Sydney families anywhere from the Inner West to the Hills District wanting structured, title-holder coaching without the drive
Key Features
- FIDE-certified faculty, including GM Diptayan Ghosh (ELO 2577) and IM Sanket Chakravarthy (ELO 2303)
- Five-level structured curriculum, Pawn through King
- Monthly progress reports and a parent dashboard
- Weekly GM masterclasses plus an internal academy tournament ecosystem
- Free trial class before any payment
2. Sydney Academy of Chess
Sydney Academy of Chess has been coaching chess in New South Wales for more than two decades, and it shows in the numbers: 216 Google reviews at 4.7 stars, the deepest review history of anyone on this list. Director FIDE Master Brett Tindall has coached for over 26 years, including stints at the Australian Junior Championships and World Junior events, and three of his coaches now hold FIDE Trainer titles of their own.
What sets this academy apart is sheer geographic reach. It runs school-based junior clubs in Ashfield, Eastern Suburbs, Epping, Hornsby, Hurstville, Manly, Mosman, North Sydney, Parramatta, Roseville, and St Ives, all out of its Burwood headquarters at the Sydney Chess Centre. Parents who want an established local club rather than a brand-new one usually land here first.
Information
- Address: Level 2, Suite 2, 1-17 Elsie St, Burwood NSW 2134 (Sydney Chess Centre)
- Contact: (02) 9745 1170
- Google Rating: 4.7
- Mode: In-person school and junior clubs across Sydney, plus online and private lessons
- Courses Offered: School coaching, private lessons, specialised small-group lessons, holiday clinics
- Programs: 15+ junior clubs across Sydney suburbs, plus the adult Sydney Chess Club
- Best For: Families anywhere in Sydney wanting an established, long-running local club near them
Key Features
- 24+ years operating in NSW, the state's largest chess-coaching firm
- Director FM Brett Tindall, 26+ years of coaching experience
- 15+ junior clubs spread across Sydney's suburbs
- Online lessons via video call for families who would rather not travel
3. Trainstein Chess College
Trainstein Chess College opened in 2021 in the heart of Chatswood CBD, and it has grown into the North Shore's largest dedicated chess academy: over 100 square metres of purpose-built space across four classrooms. More than ten coaches teach here, including chess masters and tournament champions, running upward of 30 classes a week.
Reviews back up the reputation, a perfect 5.0 rating across 23 Google reviews. Beyond weekly group classes and private coaching, Trainstein runs JCL-rated tournaments, school holiday camps, and even Go and Rubik's Cube programs for kids who want more than one thinking game in their week.
Information
- Address: Level 1, 308 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067
- Contact: 0493 237 679
- Google Rating: 5.0
- Mode: In-person, with online options
- Courses Offered: Group classes, private coaching, holiday camps, Go, Rubik's Cube
- Programs: JCL-rated tournaments, workshops, chess-themed parties
- Best For: North Shore families wanting a dedicated, purpose-built academy with real classroom infrastructure
Key Features
- North Shore's largest dedicated chess academy, over 100 square metres across four classrooms
- 10+ coaches, including chess masters and tournament champions
- 30+ classes running every week
- Also teaches Go and Rubik's Cube alongside chess
4. Norwest Chess Academy
Norwest Chess Academy runs out of Cherrybrook in Sydney's Hills District, founded by Michael Zhou on more than two decades of coaching experience across Australia. The academy follows the European Chess Stepping Programme, a system built around clear, sequential skill levels rather than loose age brackets.
Students get grouped by ability, not birthday, so a strong seven-year-old can train alongside older kids if that is where their chess actually sits. The coaching team includes university-level players, and the emphasis leans as much on sportsmanship and resilience as on tactics. Reviews are still a small sample, but they are a clean sweep: five stars across every one logged so far.
Information
- Address: Cherrybrook NSW 2126, Hills District
- Google Rating: 5.0
- Mode: In-person
- Courses Offered: Beginner through advanced groups under the Stepping Programme
- Best For: Hills District families wanting a structured, skill-based program close to home
Key Features
- Founded by Michael Zhou, 20+ years of coaching experience in Australia
- Uses the European Chess Stepping Programme
- Groups students by skill level rather than age
- Coaching team includes current university-level players
- Strong emphasis on resilience and sportsmanship alongside tactics
5. Norths Chess Club
Norths Chess Club is Sydney's oldest continuously running chess club. It started life in 1908 as the Chatswood Chess Club, decades before television, and it still meets every Tuesday night at 7:30pm at Norths Leagues Club in Cammeray. Grandmaster Max Illingworth and International Master Anton Smirnov both came up through this club, which says something about the standard of play in the room.
This is less a weekly class and more a chess home. Adults and juniors mix freely, and the club runs periodic junior coaching and tournament days alongside its regular social and rated nights. For a family who wants their child playing real, varied opponents rather than the same five classmates every week, that mix is the appeal.
Information
- Address: Norths Leagues Club, 12 Abbott Street, Cammeray NSW 2062
- Contact: Via northsydneychess.org
- Established: 1908
- Mode: In-person, weekly club nights plus periodic junior coaching days
- Best For: Lower North Shore families wanting a historic club with genuine competitive depth
Key Features
- Sydney's oldest continuously running chess club, established 1908
- Notable alumni include GM Max Illingworth and IM Anton Smirnov
- Meets every Tuesday at 7:30pm, open to adults and juniors
- Runs periodic junior coaching and tournament days
- Regularly hosts visiting titled players for simuls and talks
Quick Comparison: Best Chess Classes in Sydney
Academy | Mode | Level | Best For |
Kingdom of Chess | Live online | Beginner to Elite | Structured GM/IM coaching, zero commute |
Sydney Academy of Chess | In-person (multi-suburb) + online | Beginner to Advanced | Established local network across Sydney |
Trainstein Chess College | In-person (Chatswood) + online | Beginner to Advanced | Dedicated academy, North Shore |
Norwest Chess Academy | In-person (Cherrybrook) | Beginner to Intermediate | Hills District, skill-based groups |
Norths Chess Club | In-person (Cammeray) | Beginner to Advanced (club) | Historic club, Lower North Shore |
How to Choose the Right Chess Class in Sydney
Picking between chess classes in Sydney comes down to a handful of factors that matter more than an academy's logo or how new its website looks. Here is what actually matters before you commit a term's fees.
- Coaching credentials: look for FIDE titles, not just years of experience. A GM or IM brings pattern recognition a well-meaning weekend coach usually cannot match.
- Format that fits your life: Sydney is a big city. Online programs remove the commute entirely, while in-person options like Trainstein or Norwest give kids a physical room and face-to-face games.
- Structured curriculum versus a club: a level-based curriculum builds skills in order. A social club like Norths is brilliant for kids who already know the basics and just want more games.
- Tournament access: if competing matters, ask how the academy preps students for the NSW Chess Association calendar and school-level events.
- Progress tracking: monthly reports or parent updates are a sign an academy is watching your child's development, not just filling a timeslot.
- Age and pace fit: younger or newer players usually do better in a paced, structured program.
It is worth reading up on mistakes parents make while teaching chess before picking a format that moves faster than your child is ready for.
The Bottom Line
Finding chess classes in Sydney was never really the problem. The city has had them for over a century. Comparing a 1908 club in Cammeray against a purpose-built academy in Chatswood against an online program that never asks anyone to leave the house, that is the actual problem this guide solves.
But the choice does not have to be complicated. Kingdom of Chess gives Sydney families GM-level structure with zero commute, and Sydney Academy of Chess, Trainstein, Norwest, and Norths each give a different pocket of the city its own solid, in-person alternative. Whichever you pick, the best chess classes in Sydney all share one thing: a coach who actually shows up, week after week.
Not sure where to start? A free trial class is the lowest-risk way to find out. Book one, watch your child work through a real position with a real coach, and judge for yourself.
Also Read:
- Top 5 Chess Classes in Melbourne
- Mistakes Parents Make While Teaching Chess
- Top 10 Best Online Chess Coaching for Tournament Players 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best chess class in Sydney for beginners?
Kingdom of Chess is the strongest choice for absolute beginners in Sydney, because its Pawn-level curriculum starts with piece movement and basic checkmates under FIDE-certified coaches before building up. For an in-person option, Sydney Academy of Chess and Trainstein Chess College both run dedicated beginner groups at a neighbourhood level.
Are there free or low-cost chess classes in Sydney?
Sydney does not have a widely advertised free chess program, but school-based junior clubs through Sydney Academy of Chess keep costs modest, often around fifteen to twenty dollars a lesson. Kingdom of Chess offers a free trial class before any payment, so families can judge fit at no cost.
Can kids in Sydney take online chess classes?
Yes. Kids anywhere in Sydney, from the CBD to the outer suburbs, can join live online chess classes through Kingdom of Chess. Classes run on a fixed weekly schedule with real FIDE-certified coaches, not pre-recorded video, so a student in Penrith gets the same instruction as one in Bondi.
Does Sydney have chess tournaments for young players?
Yes. The NSW Chess Association runs a full calendar of rated events across the year, and several academies on this list organise their own. Sydney Academy of Chess runs more than fifteen junior clubs with regular tournaments, and Norths Chess Club hosts periodic junior coaching and tournament days alongside its weekly club nights.
Which part of Sydney has the most chess academies?
The North Shore, particularly Chatswood and Cammeray, currently has the strongest concentration of dedicated chess coaching in Sydney, home to both Trainstein Chess College and Norths Chess Club. Burwood is close behind as the base of Sydney Academy of Chess, and Kingdom of Chess removes the location question completely for families anywhere else in the metro area.
