WGM Trisha Kanyamarala

I’m Ireland’s first and only Woman Grandmaster. I started playing chess when I was 8 years old, and since then the game has given me incredible experiences and opportunities around the world.

Chess has taught me discipline, resilience, creativity, and confidence — and it continues to teach me something new every day. I would love to share my passion and love for the game with students and help them grow both as players and thinkers.

I have been playing chess competitively for over a decade and have represented Ireland in numerous European and World events. I also represented Ireland in two Chess Olympiads, 44th Chess Olympiad and 45th Chess Olympiad, playing on board 1 for the Irish women’s team.

I represented Ireland in two European Women’s Chess Championships (2018 and 2019), and I have also competed in five European Individual Chess Championships (Open) in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024, and 2025.

World Junior Championship Experience:
I have represented Ireland in four FIDE World Junior Chess Championship events in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. My best result came in Mexico City in 2023, where I finished 7th.

This experience at the world level has been an important part of my development, giving me exposure to strong international competition from a young age.

Some of my achievements include:

Ireland’s first Woman International Master (2020)
Woman FIDE Master (2019)
Silver Medalist at the 2021 European Youth Hybrid Championships (U16 Girls)
Joint British Women’s Champion (2024)
Runner-up at the British Women’s Championship (2023)
Irish Women’s Champion (2022)
Irish Blitz Champion — Open Section (2022)
British Women’s Rapid Champion (2024)
6th place at the European Youth Championships (2022)
Earned WGM norms in 2020, 2024, and 2025
Winner of the SNP Bardejov Open (2025)

League & Team Experience:

Played in the PRO Chess League for the Garden State Passers
Won the Leinster Chess League Division One with Dublin Chess Club
Competed in the 4NCL
Played in the Polish Chess League
Represented teams in the European Club Cup twice
Won Silver representing Ireland in Chessmates 2024
Winner of the Queen Maeve Cup 2026

Notable Wins Against Grandmasters:

Sanal Vahap
Nagy Gábor
Mark Hebden
Éloi Relange
Peter Wells

Through my tournament experience, I’ve learned how to prepare effectively, stay confident under pressure, and continuously improve, lessons I hope to pass on to my students.

I have experience introducing and promoting chess through simultaneous exhibitions, community events, and training activities. I have given simultaneous exhibition matches at tournaments and chess clubs, playing against multiple players at once and sharing practical insights during the games.

Some events and clubs include:

Curragh Chess Club — 10-board simultaneous exhibition
Global Chess Festival 2022 — 10-player simul
International Women’s Day Simul 2026
Bangor Chess Club — 12-board simul
Master Chess Club
Isle of Wight Tandem Simul 2026

I have also organised summer chess camps within my local community, helping young players develop their understanding and enjoyment of the game in a fun and encouraging environment.

In addition, I run a chess YouTube channel together with my brother called ChessATC
, where we share chess insights, analysis, and educational content for players looking to improve. ♟️

I have done several live streams on YouTube and Twitch, sharing games, analysis, and chess insights in real time.

I also write regularly about my chess journey on my blog at ictl.ie, where I cover tournament experiences, game analysis, and personal reflections from my competitive career.

When I was younger, together with my brother, I co-founded a chess club called Any Time Chess, where we ran the club daily. We also developed our own software with a rating system to track games and improvement. It became our way of practising consistently, playing regularly against a wide range of opponents and building experience through structured games.

I have a strong understanding of all phases of the game, opening preparation, strategic middlegame planning, and practical endgame technique. My experience competing at a high international level has helped me develop clear thinking under pressure, deep calculation skills, and the ability to adapt to different playing styles.

As a coach, I focus on simplifying complex ideas and helping students build a strong foundation in understanding rather than memorising. I enjoy identifying individual strengths and weaknesses and creating a clear, structured path for improvement. My goal is to help students become confident, independent thinkers over the board while also enjoying the learning process.

My teaching approach is focused on clarity, structure, and long-term improvement. I aim to help students understand the ideas behind the moves rather than memorising theory, so they can make confident decisions independently over the board.

Each lesson is tailored to the student’s level and goals, combining practical game analysis, targeted exercises, and key concept explanations from all phases of the game, openings, middlegames, and endgames. I also use my own tournament experience to bring real-game examples and highlight how to handle pressure, manage time, and make practical decisions in competitive situations.