An idea shaped on the coast
In the coastal town of La Paloma, in Rocha Department, the club traces the beginnings of its project to a championship held in 2013. Its retrospective identifies that event as the point when a simple aim took shape: to bring chess to as many people in the community as possible, with particular attention to children.
The organization had no premises of its own in its early period. It moved through Club La Aguada, Trapos Locos, Sotavento and a private home before holding activities at Centro Cultural La Paloma; the sequence shows that it relied on shared venues during that period.
A chessboard within reach of every classroom
In 2018, the club launched Un aula, un tablero with support from Rotary Club Uruguay D4980 and the Uruguayan Chess Federation. The first documented delivery went to School No. 52 and included eight wooden tables with built-in boards and matching sets of pieces.
The design went beyond donating equipment. A third-grade group formed a Scientific Chess Club and took responsibility for teaching other children and caring for the material, while Pablo Undurraga gave an introductory lesson.
The initiative later reached a larger scale. In its 2022 report, the federation credited Club de Ajedrez La Paloma with starting the project in 2018 and stated that its expansion with Rotary had reached more than one hundred schools, secondary schools and other educational institutions.
Different ages and levels under one roof
Public activity in 2025 placed Centro Cultural La Paloma at the meeting point of different levels of chess. It hosted an Eastern Regional qualifier in the open section in August; on 5 September, the club and the centre organized an under-13 tournament during the town's 151st anniversary celebrations.
On 19 September, the same centre hosted an open tournament for all ages. Together, the events brought youth competition, an all-ages open event and a route into regional competition to one community venue.
Sources
- 1.Retrospectiva, Club de Ajedrez La Paloma
- 2.Proyecto "un aula, un tablero", Club de Ajedrez La Paloma
- 3.Memoria correspondiente al ejercicio económico 1 de diciembre 2021 al 30 de noviembre de 2022, Federación Uruguaya de Ajedrez
- 4.Setiembre de Ajedrez en La Paloma, torneo Sub 13 en el Centro Cultural, Portal Oficial de Turismo Rocha
- 5.Torneo Absoluto Clasificatorio Regional Este Ajedrez en el Centro Cultural de La Paloma, Portal Oficial de Turismo Rocha
- 6.Torneo Absoluto Ajedrez en el Centro Cultural de La Paloma, para todas las edades, Portal Oficial de Turismo Rocha
- 7.La Paloma. Alojamientos, restaurantes, tours y servicios, Portal Oficial de Turismo Rocha
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