♟️ About Inès Leriche

Inès Leriche is a French chess organizer, club director, educator, arbiter, coach, and competitive player based in Poitiers, France. She serves as Director of Poitiers-Migné Échecs, one of the leading chess organizations in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and plays a central role in its tournament, educational, social, and community programs. Her work covers FIDE-rated Opens, national federation events, youth chess, women’s chess, training programs, and initiatives designed to make chess accessible to a wider range of participants.

Leriche has been a player at Poitiers-Migné Échecs since 2013 and represents France under FIDE ID 684090. Her competitive background includes two podium finishes at the French Youth Championships, selection for the French youth team, participation in international youth competitions, and the French Women’s Rapid Championship runner-up title in 2022. In 2026, she also formed part of the Poitiers-Migné Échecs team that won the Coupe de la Parité, combining her current organizational responsibilities with continued participation in high-level team chess.

Alongside her club role, Leriche is the principal contact for Social Chess, a Poitiers-Migné Échecs project that uses chess to build social connections and reach communities where organized chess is less established. She also organizes major tournaments in the Grand Poitiers area, including the Open International Plaza Futuroscope series and youth events at Lac de Saint-Cyr. Her combination of practical tournament experience, club management, education, and community outreach gives her a broad role in the development of chess around Poitiers and the Vienne department.

🏛️ Director of Poitiers-Migné Échecs

Inès Leriche currently serves as Director of Poitiers-Migné Échecs. The club operates through a collaborative leadership structure and combines competitive chess with education, social programs, community outreach, and major event organization. Poitiers-Migné Échecs competes at national level and has participated in both the Top 16 and Top 12 Féminin. It also maintains adult and youth teams across several divisions and runs one of the established women’s chess development programs in France.

As Director, Leriche is involved in the coordination of the club’s projects, partnerships, volunteers, tournament organization, and broader development strategy. Her role has also included representing Poitiers-Migné Échecs in applications to organize major French national competitions.

🏆 National Chess Events in Poitiers

Poitiers-Migné Échecs has become an important host of major French federation events under its current organizational structure. In 2025 and 2026, the club hosted national finals involving the Coupe de France, Coupe de la Parité, and Top 12 Féminin. For the 2026 finals, the Fédération Française des Échecs specifically recognized Inès Leriche as Director of the organizing club and thanked her together with the club’s partners, volunteers, and arbiting teams.

The finals brought leading French clubs and internationally titled players to Poitiers for a concentrated weekend of elite team competition. Poitiers-Migné Échecs also achieved sporting success during the same event, winning the 2026 Coupe de la Parité. Leriche was part of the championship-winning squad alongside Lucas Mariette, Marius Lefol, Naël Marché, Mathilde Lechevalier, and Rayhana Djedidi.

🌍 Open International Plaza Futuroscope

One of Inès Leriche’s principal current tournament projects is the Open International Plaza Futuroscope. The inaugural summer edition took place from July 27 to August 2, 2026 at Hôtel Plaza Futuroscope in Chasseneuil-du-Poitou, near Poitiers. The tournament consisted of nine FIDE-rated classical rounds played at 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move. Leriche served as the official organizer and principal player contact.

The event was designed as both a serious international chess tournament and a destination Open, with competition and accommodation available within the same hotel environment close to Futuroscope. Following the first summer edition, the organization immediately expanded the concept with a second tournament during the Christmas holiday period.

🎄 Open Noël Plaza Futuroscope 2026

The Open Noël Plaza Futuroscope 2026 takes place from December 26–30, 2026. Inès Leriche again serves as organizer and principal contact. The tournament uses the same nine-round classical format, with 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move, and is homologated by the Fédération Française des Échecs for FIDE rating. The competition offers a first prize of €800 and provides another opportunity for players to combine a multi-day chess tournament with accommodation at the Plaza Futuroscope.

The continuation of the series only a few months after its inaugural summer edition reflects its growing importance within the Poitiers-Migné Échecs tournament calendar.

🎓 Youth Tournament Organization

Leriche is also active in tournament projects specifically designed for younger players. In July 2026, she organized the Open jeune lent du Lac de Saint-Cyr, a nine-round FIDE-rated classical youth tournament at Beaumont Saint-Cyr. The competition used a time control of 60 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move. The tournament formed part of a broader chess program around Lac de Saint-Cyr, combining competitive chess with activities for young participants during the summer period.

This type of project links Leriche’s tournament organization with her longer-term experience in youth coaching and education.

🤝 Social Chess

Social Chess is an outreach project operated by Poitiers-Migné Échecs, with Inès Leriche serving as its principal public contact. The project uses chess as a tool for social interaction, inclusion, structured communication, and community development. Its activities can include free play, supervised sessions, structured chess practice, public events, and programs adapted to specific groups or institutions.

Poitiers-Migné Échecs also works in neighborhoods and correctional environments where organized chess is less commonly available. The aim is not limited to creating competitive players. Instead, chess becomes a shared framework for meeting people, encouraging participation, and building social connections.

🎓 Coaching and Chess Education

Chess instruction has been part of Inès Leriche’s work for many years. She has taught at the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Pôle Espoirs, provided group lessons at the Saint-Maixent-l’École chess club, and worked as a chess instructor during holiday camps. Her coaching is particularly suited to beginners, intermediate players, children, and juniors seeking more structured improvement. Training focuses on practical habits, game analysis, opening preparation, tactical and strategic understanding, and helping players apply general chess principles during real games.

Her educational background extends beyond chess. Leriche has also worked as a modern literature teacher in secondary schools, giving her professional experience in teaching and working with young people.

♟️ Playing Career

Inès Leriche has represented Poitiers-Migné Échecs as a competitive player since 2013. She achieved two podium finishes at the French Youth Championships, in 2015 and 2017, and represented the French youth national team. Her international youth experience included the Youth Olympiad in Mongolia in 2015 and the European Youth Championship in Romania in 2017. She also finished joint first in the Open B at Cap d’Agde in 2015 and the Open B at Rochefort in 2014.

One of her strongest senior results came in 2022, when she finished second in the French Women’s Rapid Championship, the Trophée Roza Lallemand. She remains an active FIDE-rated player and continues to represent Poitiers-Migné Échecs in national team competition.

🧑‍⚖️ Arbitration

Leriche is also registered within the Fédération Française des Échecs arbiting structure. The FFE currently records her qualification as Arbitre Club. Her principal current role is tournament organization rather than serving as chief arbiter of her own major events. For tournaments such as the Plaza Futuroscope Open, she works with qualified arbiters who manage the technical side of the competition.

This separation allows her to focus on event planning, player communication, venue coordination, partnerships, and overall organization.