African Chess Lounge is a FIDE Tier 2 chess academy, founded in 2011 in Cape Town, running a structured pathway from first moves to national and continental competition. Each platform in our system serves a specific function — registration, curriculum, practice, community, individual coaching and homework — so that every hour of training compounds rather than resets.
New to ACL? Here's how to get started
Six platforms. Each has one job. Complete them in order.
ACL Enrollment Portal
Official entry point — player and parent information, programme placement.
Open Enrollment PortalChessable Classroom
Structured curriculum and repetition — assigned lesson content between coached sessions.
Open Chessable ClassroomACL Lichess Club
African Chess Lounge's official Lichess team — club community, events and announcements.
Join ACL Lichess Teamapp.africanchesslounge.org
Live classes hereWhere your scheduled classes happen — join every session from here.
Open Class PortalChessflix.org
Homework, independent study and progress tracking between coached sessions.
Open ChessflixPrivate coaching students: Complete your Chess.run onboarding before your first lesson. chess.run/onboarding/acl
Parent Setup Checklist
Tick each item off as you go — this is stored in your browser only.
Programmes & Schedule
Saturday Club
All playing levels welcome.
High Performance Groups
Online sessions
Private Coaching
Individual, targeted weakness work with a FIDE-qualified coach. Flexible scheduling. Complete Chess.run onboarding before your first lesson.
Access & Pricing
Club membership from R100 / month
Walk-in participation R50 / session
Confirm current pricing with ACL before making payment.
Where your child's training is headed
Four stages. Each unlocks the next. Promotion follows demonstrated readiness, not ambition.
Foundation
Rules, board vision, notation, basic tactics and disciplined habits.
Next: Structured club training and regular practice.
Development
Tactical pattern recognition, calculation, opening principles and basic endgames.
Next: Junior High Performance or targeted coaching.
Performance
Preparation systems, deeper calculation, positional understanding, technical endgames and competitive resilience.
Next: Senior High Performance, 1-on-1 coaching and major events.
Elite
Individual performance plan, tournament calendar, opening files, physical and psychological preparation.
Next: Long-term title and international competition plan.
Contact & Location
Curro Durbanville Primary
1 Memento Drive, Durbanville, Cape Town
Saturday sessions 14:00–17:00
Already enrolled? Your class is one tap away.
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