Ficheall.ie
Primary Teachers Promoting Chess

At the Féile Fichille Tournaments

Ficheall.ie organise fun and friendly, one day inter-school chess tournaments. These tournaments provide a focus for teachers to promote chess in primary schools through the winter months. Our goal is maximum participation in chess, so the focus of these events is on teamwork and giving children the opportunity to represent their school in a non-competitive, friendly environment.

Look at the videos below to get an idea of what to expect for both students and teachers.

Are You Tournament Ready?

Our Lessons page has everything you need to bring your students up to speed. To best assess if your students are ready for a Féile Fichille tournament see the document below:

Féile Fichille Checklist 2022

Féile Fichille

A chess team consists of eight students and schools are welcome to enter up to four chess teams if they wish. No individual awards or team prizes are given at a Féile Fichille Tournament. Instead schools who enter teams are presented with a Certificate of Participation to celebrate the school making chess available to the students in their school.

Ficheall.ie ask teachers promoting chess in their school to hand over naming the team to the students involved. As many schools choose to enter more than one team we discourage schools from labelling their teams as “Team A”, “Team B”, etc.

Tournament Format & Rules

Schools are welcome to enter up to four chess teams into a Féile Fichille if they wish. Teams can be entered into the following sections:

Section

Class Level

Masters

5th & 6th Class

Budding Masters (Buds)

4th class and younger

Ficheall.ie ensure there is an experienced chess arbiter at each tournament. The chess arbiter uses the Swiss Perfect computer program which ensures that players play others of a similar playing level to them.

Ficheall.ie tournaments typically start at 9.30am and finish at 2pm. This time includes two chess matches followed by a short break, and then two more matches before lunch. The remaining two matches are played after lunch and time is also set aside at the end of the day for group photos and presentation of a Certificate of Participation to each school.

Chess games typically last for 20 minutes. If checkmate is not achieved after 20 minutes then the chess value system is used to decide on a result. A player is deemed to have won if the player has pieces of a value that is 3 points or more greater than their opponent. A difference of 2, 1 or 0 points is deemed a draw.

For more information on tournament rules and protocols download the document below:

Ficheall.ie Tournament Rules and Guidelines 2022 -23

In keeping with the non-competitive nature of Ficheall.ie events, no results are posted on the day of the tournament. It’s all about children enjoying chess!

Each school is presented with a certificate on the day of the tournament. Teachers are invited to print these certificates of participation and give them to the students.

We do, however, provide team results to the school chess teacher for analysis. For information and guidance on reviewing results with your chess team see the following document:

Ficheall.ie Tournament Review with Students  

 

Note for Parents (optional template)

This Parental Note/Consent Template may be used in conjunction with schools’ Travel Consent Policy, should it be required.

Ficheall do not seek these consent forms from schools.