Chess Club

Lauttasaari chess club has friendly and international atmosphere. You can join weekly tournaments or activities for beginners even if you are not a member:

  • Blitz or rapid tournament, Lauttasaari church at 6 p.m., mainly for seasoned & rated players (average rating 1800–1900).
  • Casual chess games (without a chess clock), Lauttasaari library at 5–8 p.m., mainly for beginners & under 1500 rated.

We also organize special tournaments with classical and rapid time controls.

The club is a good choice, say, for exchange students who want to continue playing chess while studying in Finland. People just briefly visiting Helsinki sometimes come to the club to play a few games.

There are excellent metro and bus connections to Lauttasaari from central Helsinki and Espoo.

Weekly blitz and rapid tournaments

The weekly non-rated tournaments start on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. at the club room of Lauttasaari church, Myllykallionrinne 1 C (2nd floor), Helsinki. The "C" door is 25 meters from the bell-tower:

Time control in the weekly tournaments (beginners get extra time):

  • Blitz 3'+02" (3 min + 2 sec increment), 9–12 rounds, first 2 Wednesdays of the month.
  • Rapid 10'+05", 5 rounds, other Wednesdays of the month.

Tournament results are in ChessManager. An entry fee is collected from the participants of the weekly tournament.

Special Wednesdays in 2024:

  • 1.5. Club room is closed
  • 29.5. Fischer Random tournament (10'+05")
  • 31.7. Blitz championship on Seurasaari at 17:00 (3'+02")
  • 27.11. Fischer Random tournament (10'+05")
  • 25.12. Club room is closed

Activities for beginners (of all ages)

Beginners are welcome to Lauttasaari library on Wednesdays at 5–8 p.m. to

  • Get basic training on openings, tactics, strategy, endgames
  • Play casual games
  • Have joint analysis sessions
  • Solve chess puzzles
  • Get guidance for self study

Exceptions in 2024: the session will not be held on Wednesdays 1.5., 8.5., 29.5. A summer break will be around July.


We are looking forward to seeing you at our chess club!

Ask more: jyrki.j.heikkinen@gmail.com, +358 50 4864451.