It’s competition day at Scoil Mhuire in Shankill, Co Dublin. Young competitors line up, their eyes locked in fierce concentration. Decked out in their school team jerseys, they size up their opponents, knowing one wrong step could change everything.
But there are no goals, no tackles and no final whistle – just the quiet tap of pieces on a board as the primary school chess tournament gets under way.
Niamh Rochford, a third-class student from St Joseph’s National School in Dún Laoghaire, is one of the students competing in the tournament for the first time.
She started learning how to play chess this year at school but the inspiration came from home. “I was inspired when my sister and my dad started playing,” says…