Chess on a Saturday in Rome 4

Saturday afternoon is when two Roman clubs simply open the room and let people play. Steinitz in Conca d’Oro lists free play through the afternoon on its calendar, alongside rounds of its club tournament. Quattro Pedoni in Balduina opens for the afternoon too and, from late September, holds its courses inside those hours, the adults’ one at six. The Accademia Scacchistica Romana is open on Saturdays as on weekdays.

Saturday is also a day for young players: the Scuola Popolare di Scacchi sets aside three hours of the afternoon for youth play, the “gioco ragazzi” of its timetable. Quattro Pedoni pauses its Saturday opening in July, so look at the club’s news before going in high summer. None of these afternoons needs a rating or a tournament entry, but only Quattro Pedoni says in writing that guests may come; elsewhere a message to the club beforehand settles whether a visitor can sit down.