Metro Area Chess League (MACL) – Overview

The U.S. Chess Center is pleased to offer a new season of the Metro Area Chess League (MACL), the high school chess league we ran from 1985 through 2012, and from 2021 to the present. A previous incarnation of the league ran from 1950 through 1975. The league is open to all interested high schools in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2026-2027 season will start in November 2026 and conclude with playoffs in April 2027.

Any high school in the DC metro area may field a team.
Matches will be played either online on lichess.org or in-person between two schools (which method will be determined by pairings/schedule). See below for the tentative schedule.
Teams are four players, not necessarily the same four each match, all registered students in their schools in grades 9-12.

Register your school to compete in the Metro Area Chess League at: https://chessctr.org/play/macl-school
Players (students) should register individually (at no additional cost) at: https://chessctr.org/play/macl-player

Schools that have any questions about participating should contact us at: hs-league@chessctr.org

Congratulations to the 2025-2026 MACL Champion

Richard Montgomery High School
Rockville, MD

Four players from each school and their coaches/sponsors will meet online or in-person.
Teams must complete each round’s match by (or before) the deadline.

Round 1: Match Deadline: November TBD
Round 2: Match Deadline: December TBD
Round 3: Match Deadline: January TBD
Round 4: Match Deadline: January TBD
Round 5: Match Deadline: February TBD
Round 6: Match Deadline: February TBD
Round 7: Match Deadline: March TBD
Round 8: Match Deadline: March TBD

Playoffs: Top 2 teams from each division (4 teams total) will play in-person on a Date TBD in April 2027

Atlantic Division

Eastern Division