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Rockaden, a chess club for players on all levels

At Rockaden you can be certain to find chess players of your own strength, even if you are a Grandmaster - or just getting started. We have hundreds of players, especially juniors, and welcome all new players. "Rockaden" means "the castling" in Swedish.

Rockaden is the biggest chess club in Sweden.

We play and train chess on:
  • Fridays (main club evening, all levels)
  • Wednesdays (shorter games, players up to 1400 in national rating)
  • Tuesdays (training groups)
We have club tournaments in blitz and long games, with an emphasis on the long games.

All levels

We have players at all levels, from young children just starting out and grown-ups who enjoy chess without taking it too seriously, to Grandmasters including Ulf Andersson and Lars Karlsson.

Regardless of how well - or how badly - you play chess, you can find suitable opponents at Rockaden.

More than 1 000 players

Located in Hägerstensåsen, a southern suburb of Stockholm, we have well over 1000 members. Most members are "juniors" (younger than 20). There are more than a hundred "senior" players as well.

Juniors & schools

There are hundreds of junior players at Rockaden, and kids can be certain to find many opponents of similar ability at our club. For a promising player, Rockaden is a very good place to develop his or her chess. When we go to national championships we usually rent one or two buses so that we can travel together (inexpensively), and we usually stay together in youth hostels.

Rockaden holds chess activities at about ten schools around Stockholm. Many children start by playing chess in a school, and then move on to play at the club.

Girls

We make several efforts aiming to encourage girls in chess:
  • All-girl training groups.
  • Girl teams in the Swedish league (Allsvenskan) and lag-dm (local tournament).
  • Separate "girl's room" with their own coach when we travel to major national tournaments.
Naturally, girls also take part in all regular activities and tournaments. In Swedish chess, girls and ladies are not excluded from any event.

Traditionally, chess has been a "male" activity, and there is still a marked majority of male players. However, this is beginning to change, especially in the younger age groups. One major junior tournament recently, hosted by Rockaden, had one quarter girl players.

Many nationalities

Chess is one of the most multicultural activities that you can find in Sweden. At Rockaden, you can find chess players of around ten different nationalities.
Of course it's an advantage is you speak Swedish, but it is not a requirement if you want to play at Rockaden. We welcome chess players from any and all cultural backgrounds.

Strong teams

More than ten Rockaden teams compete in local and national tournaments at every level. Rockaden has won the Swedish league (Allsvenskan) repeatedly.

If you want to play in a team and have a playing strength of at least 1400, chances are that you can join one of our teams. A Swedish national rating is usually 80-100 points higher than the corresponding Elo (international) rating. A Swedish player with a national rating of 2100 would probably have a playing strength of about 2020 Elo.

How to get in touch

The best way is to call (Erik Geijer, +46 70 433 76 26) or email rockaden@swipnet.se in advance. Of course you can just go to the club to "check things out", but since most club members will be busy playing in the club championship, you can't be certain that you'll find someone to play with right away. Rockaden is a rather "serious" chess club, where most games are competitive and part of a tournament. You will find us in Hägerstensåsens medborgarhus, Riksdalersvägen 2, Hägersten. Bus 147 stops right outside, and the subway station Hägerstensåsen is nearby. We usually start playing at six o'clock or six-thirty.

Membership dues

Juniors, students (aged 25 or less), senior citizens and supportive members pay 560 SEK per year. Other players pay 870 SEK.

Drug-free environment

Like Swedish chess clubs in general, Rockaden is a drug-free environment.