Red Knight Chess Club

♟️ About Red Knight Chess Club

Red Knight Chess Club is a chess club, academy, and tournament organizer based in Bangkok, Thailand. Riste Menkinoski and Loreshyl Cuizon founded the club in 2019 with a focus on developing a strong, welcoming chess community. Its main chess center operates from Prasarnmit Plaza on Sukhumvit Soi 23, while the organization also runs the Red Knight Chess Café at Bambini Villa on Sukhumvit 26. The club combines chess coaching, competitive training, FIDE-rated tournaments, scholastic events, casual chess, and chess equipment retail. Youth development is central to Red Knight’s activity. The club provides programs for beginners through advanced competitive juniors, including individual coaching, group courses, camps, and its Master Class training sessions. Its players have earned numerous honors in Thailand’s national youth championships, while Red Knight students Nathasha Mekarapiruk and Sasinat Tawankanjana represented Thailand at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest. At the same time, the club organizes competitions for adult players, including regular FIDE-rated rapid and blitz tournaments. FM Riste Menkinoski is co-founder, coach, tournament organizer, and the club’s principal public contact. He continues to direct many Red Knight competitions in 2026. The club’s current calendar includes major inter-school championships and monthly FIDE-rated events. Moreover, Red Knight is a partner of the 5th Blue Chevaliers International Open 2026, scheduled for September 7–13 in Phuket, while its own 4th TCIS Chess Championship is scheduled for September 27, 2026.

📜 History and Development

Red Knight Chess Club opened in Bangkok in 2019. Menkinoski and Cuizon created the organization around chess training and competitive development, particularly for young players. The club subsequently expanded its original premises at Prasarnmit Plaza. By 2022, renovations had created additional playing and training space suitable for larger chess events. A second major development followed in August 2024, when Red Knight Chess Café opened at Bambini Villa on Sukhumvit 26. The café provides a more informal chess environment with chessboards integrated into tables, a chess library, courses, tournaments, and regular community activities. The café now hosts Saturday Casual Chess Evenings, which combine social play with blitz tournaments. On August 23, 2026, Red Knight celebrated the café’s second anniversary with separate FIDE-rated rapid and blitz championships and an age-group tournament.

🎓 Youth Chess and Training

Red Knight offers chess instruction in both English and Thai, with in-person and online options available. Programs range from introductory lessons for complete beginners to structured competitive training. Its Master Class sessions target juniors who already have tournament experience and want more intensive development. These sessions emphasize calculation, strategy, competitive preparation, and practical training against strong opponents. The results of this youth program are visible in national competition. At the 21st Thailand Junior Chess Championship in 2026, Red Knight players returned with 11 trophies and four medals. The club also works extensively with international schools. Rather than limiting activity to its own premises, Red Knight organizes large school championships at institutions across Bangkok and surrounding areas.

🏆 Tournament Activity

Red Knight Chess Club maintains an unusually dense tournament schedule. Its program includes FIDE-rated rapid and blitz events, age-group tournaments, team competitions, school championships, and larger collaborative tournaments. During 2026, the club organized the King’s College Chess Championship, Chess Without Borders 6, 3rd NIST Chess Championship, Amnuay Silpa Chess Championship, recurring FIDE-rated rapid and blitz tournaments, and the RKCC Team Duo Chess Championship. The 3rd NIST Chess Championship, held on May 10, included several age categories together with a dedicated FIDE-rated section. Meanwhile, the inaugural Amnuay Silpa Chess Championship on June 21 reached its planned capacity of approximately 200 young players, with separate age groups and FIDE-rated competition. The club also organizes limited-field FIDE rapid and blitz tournaments at its Sukhumvit 23 premises. These competitions bring together titled players, strong local competitors, international residents, and ambitious juniors.

🌍 Major 2026 Events and Partnerships

Red Knight cooperates with other chess organizations and international schools on larger events. One important partnership is with Blue Chevaliers, an independent group active in Southeast Asian chess. The 5th Blue Chevaliers International Open is scheduled for September 7–13, 2026, in Phuket. Blue Chevaliers presents the tournament in partnership with Red Knight Chess Club, continuing their cooperation on international classical chess in Thailand. Red Knight’s next major school event is the 4th TCIS Chess Championship, scheduled for September 27, 2026, at Thai-Chinese International School. The six-round competition will accept up to 200 players born in 2008 or later. It includes U7, U9, U11, U13, U18, and FIDE-rated categories, together with individual and school-team awards.

🏛️ Organization and Leadership

FM Riste Menkinoski is co-founder of Red Knight Chess Club and remains closely involved in its coaching and tournament operations. Chess-Results regularly lists him as Tournament Director and tournament-file administrator for Red Knight events. Menkinoski represented North Macedonia as a competitive player and holds the FIDE Master title. His background also includes coaching and national-team experience before his move to Thailand. Loreshyl Cuizon co-founded Red Knight with Menkinoski and has also worked as an arbiter at Red Knight and international events. Together, the founders developed the organization from a dedicated chess academy into a broader operation that now includes tournament organization, competitive training, community chess, and the Red Knight Chess Café.