ClassicJordaan
Café de Laurierboom
Brown Café
Amsterdam's living chess café — boards out every day, regulars who'll happily teach you an opening, and the kind of low-lit brown-café atmosphere the city is famous for. Laurierstraat 76.
Amsterdam's
Chess Guide
Find places to play, clubs, tournaments, coaches, events and shops — across the city.
Why Amsterdam
A City Built for Chess
Amsterdam isn't just home to the Max Euwe Centrum, named for the only Dutch World Chess Champion. It's a city where brown cafés double as chess clubs, canal-side benches become boards, and a pop-up blitz tournament is never more than a bike ride away.
This guide is built the way locals actually play — every venue, club and event cross-checked against multiple sources before it earns a place here.
Explore Amsterdam Chess
Venues & cafés
Where to Play
From hidden brown cafés to dedicated chess centres — every place in Amsterdam to sit down and play.
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Rated & open events
Tournaments
Find official KNSB-rated tournaments, rapid events, and open competitions across the city.
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Join a community
Clubs
Amsterdam's chess clubs welcome players at every level — from beginners to grandmasters.
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Improve your game
Chess Lessons
Private coaches, group classes, and school programmes run by some of the Netherlands' strongest players.
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What's on
Events
From the rotating Bar Blitz series to one-off tournaments and simultaneous exhibitions — what's on across the city.
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Equipment & books
Shops
Where to buy sets, clocks, scorebooks and every chess accessory you need in Amsterdam.
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Editor's Pick
Featured Places
FeaturedAmsterdam-West
2 Klaveren
Chess Café
A neighborhood institution where the boards never really stop moving. Coffee, quiet corners, and a community that treats chess as a daily ritual, not an event. De Clercqstraat 136.
HistoricCentrum
Max Euwe Centrum
Chess Centre
Named for the Netherlands' only World Chess Champion, this small museum and study center is part shrine, part clubhouse — the place to understand Amsterdam's place in chess history. Max Euweplein 26.
What's Happening
Upcoming Tournaments
View all →Aug
1–2
33e Ruigoord Schaaktoernooi
Dorpshuis, Ruigoord
Sep
06
1e Dirk Goes Memorial
ASV Bilderdijk, Bilderdijkpark 10
Sep
13
Raadsheer Open Rapid 2026
Rapid · Gebouw de Poort
Explore Visually
The Chess Map of Amsterdam
Every verified venue, club and public chess spot, plotted on one map. Filter by type, jump straight to directions, and see how close the nearest game really is.
Explore the Map →For venues, clubs, coaches, organizers & shops
Get Listed for Free
Add your venue, club, tournament, or business to the guide, or advertise to the most engaged chess audience in Amsterdam.