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Elementary Team League 2025-26 Matchday 3 Results

Back from the winter break, the Elementary Team League reconvened at St. Luke’s this past Saturday for the third matchday of the season.   Spring Hill and Kent Gardens remain neck and neck in the overall standings and with five matchdays remaining, there’s still ample time for the other schools to catch them.

January is an important time of year as we set our sights on some major chess events coming up later in the spring, including the state and national championships, which we will have a blog post about soon.  Representing your school in the Elementary Team League is a great way to build up experience and confidence to prepare for these larger events.

Round 5:

Kent Gardens 4-0 Willow Springs
Orange Hunt 2.5-0.5 Oakton
White Oaks 2-2 Greenbriar West
Colvin Run 0.5-3.5 Churchill Road
Ravensworth 0-3 Spring Hill

Round 6:

Willow Springs 0-2 Ravensworth
Spring Hill 2.5-1.5 Colvin Run
Churchill Road 2-2 White Oaks
Greenbriar West 3.5-0.5 Orange Hunt
Oakton 1.5-2.5 Kent Gardens

Standings after Matchday 3 of 8:
 
Spring Hill 83
Kent Gardens 81
Greenbriar West 64
White Oaks 58
Churchill Road 58
Colvin Run 57
Orange Hunt 40
Oakton 40
Ravensworth 38
Willow Springs 26

Elementary Team League 2025-26 Matchday 2 Results

The second day of Elementary Team League matches took place last Saturday afternoon.  Those students who braved the cold to come out got to play some good games of chess.  In the overall standings, Spring Hill continues in the lead ahead of Kent Gardens.

We now break for a few weeks for the holiday season before the league matches resume in January.  The ETL is always a great opportunity for students to practice their chess in a competitive setting, and most of the participating schools still have openings to sign up and play during the remainder of the season, so if you haven’t joined us at St. Luke’s yet, we hope to see you in the future!

Round 3:

White Oaks 0-3 Kent Gardens
Orange Hunt 3.5-0.5 Willow Springs
Ravensworth 2-1 Greenbriar West
Colvin Run 1-3 Oakton
Spring Hill 2.5-1.5 Churchill Road 

Round 4:
Oakton 1-3 White Oaks
Willow Springs 0.5-3.5 Spring Hill
Churchill Road 3-1 Ravensworth
Greenbriar West 3-1 Colvin Run
Kent Gardens 3-1 Orange Hunt

Standings after Matchday 2 of 8:
 
Spring Hill 58
Kent Gardens 52
White Oaks 42
Greenbriar West 39
Orange Hunt 38
Churchill Road 33
Oakton 32
Colvin Run 32
Ravensworth 28
Willow Springs 26

Please Support the Optimists

One of the Chess Center’s most reliable supporters for more than 20 years has been the National Capital Optimists Club. Their dedication to helping organizations that work with children and teens is more than admirable; it is an example of the best of humanity.

Their annual Christmas tree sale provides the income they use to support the organizations, including ours. The Optimists are an all-volunteer operation. Leading the sales team is Peyton, pictured above, and she (with other helpers) hand-makes the wreaths the group sells.

The high-quality trees for sale are sourced from Oregon, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, so they have a great selection of sizes and varieties.

The lot is conveniently located at the Kensington Baptist Church along Connecticut Avenue at Dresden Street, one mile outside the Beltway. http://www.capitaloptimist.org/

Elementary Team League 2025-26 Matchday 1 Results

The new season of the Elementary Team League, the friendly competition we run for schools around the greater D.C. area, has just begun.  Last Saturday, November 15, saw the first and second rounds of matches at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, which hosts the competition for the fifth straight year.

In the standings, defending champion Spring Hill is off to the early lead as the only school to have won both matches on Saturday, while Kent Gardens and White Oaks trail close behind.  

 

Round 1:

White Oaks 4-0 Willow Springs
Colvin Run 2-2 Orange Hunt
Ravensworth 0-4 Kent Gardens 
Spring Hill 4-0 Oakton
Churchill Road 1-3 Greenbriar West

Round 2:
Orange Hunt 2-2 White Oaks
Willow Springs 3-1 Churchill Road
Oakton 2-2 Ravensworth
Greenbriar West 1-3 Spring Hill
Kent Gardens 2-2 Colvin Run

Standings after Matchday 1 of 8:
 
Spring Hill 30
Kent Gardens 26
White Oaks 26
Colvin Run 20
Greenbriar West 20
Orange Hunt 20
Willow Springs 18
Ravensworth 14
Churchill Road 12
Oakton 12

 

Chess in the Mall Debuts at Westfield Montgomery

Chess in the Mall was something new for us. Chess Girls DC, managed by Robin Ramson, has an agreement to put a chess activity every Saturday through September 27 in Westfield Montgomery (known for decades as Montgomery Mall) in Bethesda. Other activities include simultaneous exhibitions with masters, arena-style tournaments, and chess puzzle-solving contests.

The U.S. Chess Center took its concept of Chess in the Park, which we have run in southeast DC six times, as well as in Silver Spring and Kensington, Maryland, and ran it in the middle of the shopping mall. Thirty-four players competed in the informal tournament, won by a seventh grade Prince George’s County student and a fifth grade Fairfax County student, pictured here.

While the event was open to everyone, the vast majority of the players were elementary and middle school kids. About twenty other chess players came to find friendly casual games.

For updates on the activities at the mall, visit https://chessalliance.org

Summer Camp Season Continues in Northern Virginia

Starting with the first full week of July, our summer camp season moved back across the Potomac to Fairfax County, Virginia.  From July 7-11 we held camp at Churchill Road Elementary in McLean, an annual summer stop of ours for many decades, and were pleased to teach many new and returning campers.  The next week we moved a short distance down the road to Colvin Run Elementary in Vienna, where we drew nearly 30 students of all ability levels.  

Most recently we spent the week at Haycock Elementary; the Haycock camp strongest group of players that we’ve taught this summer.  Mr. Anderson used a Fischer-Kavalek game as the basis for many of the lessons, and Mr. Mehler provided personal anecdotes about Grandmaster Kavalek, as well as stories about Fischer, to bring the game more to life. 

All of our camps incorporate tournament competitions, large and small group lessons, and individual one-on-one evaluations to help the students master important skills.  No matter what their playing strength entering the week, each student leaves camp on Friday knowing more than when they arrived the Monday before.

Photos from Chess Camp at Takoma Park Middle School

Our summer camp season continued last week with a camp at Takoma Park Middle School in Montgomery County, MD.  Nearly 30 students showed up, ranging in strength from beginners to experienced tournament players.  No matter their ability, everybody learned something new over the course of the week, and the camp concluded with a tournament during which the students put their knowledge to use.

We returned to Northern Virginia this week with our camp at Churchill Road Elementary, and next week we start at Colvin Run Elementary.  There’s still space open at most of our camps over the remainder of the summer, so come sign up to join us!

New Season of Summer Chess Camps is Up and Running

Our summer season started yesterday with a camp in West Springfield, VA. The kids are enthusiastic, enjoyed playing in a tournament to start the week, and are learning a lot of the strategy of the game. We will have another tournament on Friday, and the winner of that tournament will receive a trophy.

Next week, we will be in Takoma Park, MD, and after that in other schools in the area, each for one week.

Several students who have been with us in previous years have registered for more than one week, and we look forward to watching them learn new things.

Our tradition of running summer chess camps is among the longest running in the country, and we always have at least one teacher per every ten students.  Space is still available in most camps, and registration is open at https://chessctr.org/summercamps/.

Chess Renaissance in DC

The U.S. Chess Center left its last location in Washington, DC, where we could run regular chess events in 2016. Since then, we and other groups have run occasional events in the city, but people in the city have had to travel to the suburbs for most significant competitions.

Recently, however, the Big Chair Chess Club (“Think b4U move”) and Live Chess have begun filling in the gaps. The Big Chair Club offers classes for kids in addition to occasional tournaments at such sites as Anacostia’s Busboys and Poets.

Big Chair Chess Club President Wendall Brown and Vice President Wendell Hankins with a student.

Malcolm Wooten, who managed the chess club at Howard University when he was an undergraduate there, has created Live Chess and is now running regular events at Potter’s House Bookstore and Café in the Adams Morgan neighborhood.

These events have attracted dozens of players, both casual and serious, and continue on a regular basis.

The two groups collaborate on successful events. They are coming along more frequently now, and it is a wonderful trend that will benefit the local scene. We look forward to continuing to feature their events in our Play Calendar.

Another Large Crowd for Chess in the Park at Eastern Market Metro

There was some rain in the forecast for Saturday morning, but luckily the raindrops stopped in time for our latest edition of Chess in the Park.  This is the third of the three tournaments we held at Eastern Market Metro Park this spring, and we are grateful to Barracks Row Main Street for sponsoring all three.

We were happy to see that the tournament was well-attended in spite of the variable forecast.  58 students from around the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and Maryland showed up to play.  Most of the students who turned up were able to play at least six tournament games, with some playing as many as nine.

Washington Yu Ying brought back the prize for the best scoring team.  In addition to awards for the top performing schools, there were also trophies for the best scores for individual players.  Both our Chess Kids class (three students) and our after-school programs (two students) were well-represented among the individual trophy winners.  

2024-25 Metro Area Chess League Concludes With Playoffs

We closed out another great season of the Metro Area Chess League on June 1.  After eight rounds of online play across five months of competition, four schools qualified for the in-person playoffs held in-person at our Silver Spring office this past weekend.

Montgomery Blair (Silver Spring, MD), Jackson-Reed (Washington, DC), Langley (McLean, VA), and West Springfield (Springfield, VA) were the high schools who made up the final four.  Congratulations to Langley, who won all three of their playoff matches to take home the season championship for the first time, having also gone unbeaten in their regular season matchups as well. 

In the four seasons since we revived the league in the autumn of 2021, the quality of the competition has improved year after year, and that was the case again this year.  Over a hundred students from twenty different schools across the District of Columbia, Maryland and Northern Virginia took part in the 2024-25 season, and we hope to draw even more when the next season begins in fall 2025.  

Playoff Standings:

1) Langley    3-0
2) West Springfield    2-1
3) Montgomery Blair    1-2
4) Jackson Reed    0-3

U.S. Chess Center Exhibits at Kensington Day of the Book Festival

Dozens of chess players – children, teens, and adults – took on two of the Chess Center’s young masters during Kensington’s Day of the Book Festival. On a beautiful April Sunday, thousands of book-lovers came to Kensington, Maryland, to meet authors, hear discussions, and play chess.

The book festival is now an 18 year tradition. FIDE Master Allan Savage (pictured below) volunteered for many years to play chess against all comers during the festival, giving a book to anyone who could beat him. When he passed away during the pandemic, the festival asked the U.S. Chess Center to continue the activity, and we were proud to honor his legacy.

Mr. Savage was a former Maryland Champion. A librarian by profession, he was a prolific chess author and player. He spread his love of the Royal Game from his roots in the Midwest to Maryland, where he lived for nearly five decades.

David Sherman, a chess master, and former Maryland and DC Champion, as well as being a great friend (and former employee) of the Center hosted the chess tent twice, and this year two of our teen students got together to play festival participants. Anyone they couldn’t beat received a book, and two skilled players held our masters to draws and received their prizes.

Near the same spot, Kensington will host a free open-air chess tournament for kids in grades 2 – 8 this fall. Details will come this summer.

Photos from Chess in the Park on May 10

The U.S. Chess Center, in continued partnership with Barracks Row Main Street, was pleased to be able to stage another edition of Chess in the Park this past Saturday, May 10, at Eastern Market Metro.  The 54 students who played enjoyed some lovely weather, made new friends and played some exciting games of chess.

A total of 32 schools were represented at the tournament: 15 from the District of Columbia, 10 from Maryland and 7 from Virginia.  Washington Latin’s team took home the trophy for the best-performing DC team, while Yu Ying PCS was the runner-up in that category.

Eastern Market Metro will play host to one more Chess in the Park event this summer, on June 7, and any student in grades 2-8 who knows the rules of tournament chess may register to play. 

Chess in the Park Returns To Eastern Market Metro

Our popular series of free Saturday children’s tournaments at Eastern Market Metro Park will be back for three more editions in 2025.  The U.S. Chess Center, in tandem with Barracks Row Main Street, is happy to announce April 27, May 10, and June 7 as the scheduled dates for this year’s events.

Chess in the Park is a drop-in event open to all students in grades 2-8 that know the rules and etiquette of chess.  Online registration is now available.  No membership in any organization is required to participate; however, there is a limited amount of table space so we strongly suggest that interested students register in advance.

Elementary Team League 2024-25 Matchday 8 Results

We finished up another great season of the Elementary Team League last weekend.  Spring Hill took the season title ahead of Haycock and Kent Gardens.  Congratulations to all the participating schools and students!

Round 15:

Haycock 4-0 Orange Hunt
Colvin Run 3-1 White Oaks
Kent Gardens 4-0 Willow Springs
Cleveland Park Library 0-1 Greenbriar West
Churchill Road 2-2 Oakton
Ravensworth 1-3 Spring Hill

Round 16:

White Oaks 0.5-2.5 Churchill Road
Spring Hill 3-1 Haycock
Oakton 2-2 Kent Gardens 
Willow Springs 2-0 Cleveland Park Library 
Orange Hunt 2-2 Colvin Run
Greenbriar West 0-3 Ravensworth

Standings after Matchday 8 of 8:
 
Spring Hill 211
Haycock 189
Kent Gardens 182
Oakton 155
Churchill Road 170
White Oaks 115
Colvin Run 114
Willow Springs 98
Cleveland Park 89
Greenbriar West 80
Orange Hunt 78
Ravensworth 72

Elementary Team League 2024-25 Matchday 7 Results

We have entered the homestretch of this year’s Elementary Team League season.  After last Saturday’s matches, there is only one round remaining.  Spring Hill and Haycock will battle it out for the season title on the last day of League matches on March 22.

Round 13:

Ravensworth 1-2 White Oaks
Willow Springs 0-4 Churchill Road
Haycock 4-0 Orange Hunt
Spring Hill 3-1 Kent Gardens 
Cleveland Park Library 0-4 Oakton
Colvin Run 2.5-0.5 Greenbriar West

Round 14:
Oakton 4-0 Willow Springs
Churchill Road 3-1 Colvin Run
Greenbriar West 0.5-3.5 Haycock
Orange Hunt 0-4 Ravensworth
White Oaks 1-3 Spring Hill
Kent Gardens 4-0 Cleveland Park Library

Standings after Matchday 7 of 8:
 
Spring Hill 183
Haycock 167
Kent Gardens 156
Oakton 155
Churchill Road 148
White Oaks 106
Colvin Run 90
Cleveland Park 89
Willow Springs 88
Greenbriar West 76
Orange Hunt 68
Ravensworth 54

Any student who is a part of our after-school clubs can register to play in the Elementary Team League, and participating is a great way for students to build up skills and confidence for prestigious competitions like the state and national championships.  Please contact your child’s chess club instructor if your son or daughter is interested in taking part.

U.S. Chess Center Students Compete at World Amateur Team Championship

Two teams of our students had a wonderful time at the World Amateur Team Championships over Presidents Day weekend in Parsippany, New Jersey. Unlike events like the scholastic championships, this event is a fixed team tournament, meaning that the four players on one team sit together to play the four players of the opposing team.

Cooper Middle School, consisting of players who had been in our Spring Hill Elementary club and half of them now in the Theophilus Thompson Club on Sundays, won the award for the top middle school in the competition. Spring Hill Elementary tied for first place among elementary schools but lost out on tie-breaks for the championship plaque this year. (Spring Hill took clear first place last year.)

Every student returned talking about making plans to return to event next year. Leo, of Spring Hill, notched his first score against a National Master, a source of great pride. Emily, a Spring Hill fourth grader, gushed about how much fun it was to beat adults.

Bryan, from Cooper, liked being seated with his teammates, so that he could watch his friends play without having to look for them in a huge tournament hall. With about 1,500 players in the championships, the event could have been overwhelming for the young players, but because they were seated with their teams, everyone was comfortable throughout.  The players also enjoyed the unique aspects of this event, such as playing teams that were all female, or all senior citizens, or other teams of students from other parts of the country.  Some teams came in costume, and many had interesting names.

 

The fixed team format provides additional benefits. Nobody feels bad at the end of a game. When a player wins and the team wins, the player is happy. When a player loses but the team wins, the player is happy. When a player wins but the team loses, the player is happy. When a player loses and the team loses, the player knows that the whole team is the same boat, and the player is happy. Fixed team events are great for promoting the best of chess, and we are glad that our teams participated.

Elementary Team League 2024-25 Matchday 6 Results

This year’s Elementary Team League season at the three-quarter point after yesterday’s two rounds of matches at St. Luke’s.  Spring Hill continues to hold a handy lead in the overall standings, with Haycock and Kent Gardens in a tight battle for second place.  White Oaks were the major movers this past Saturday, scoring two 4-0 match sweeps to move up four spots in the overall standings.   

Round 11:

Orange Hunt 1-3 Spring Hill
Greenbriar West 0-3 Willow Springs
Oakton 2-1 Ravensworth
Haycock 2-2 Kent Gardens 
Churchill Road 3-0 Cleveland Park Library
Colvin Run 0-4 White Oaks

Round 12:
White Oaks 4-0 Oakton
Kent Gardens 3-1 Colvin Run
Ravensworth 0.5-3.5 Haycock
Willow Springs 0-4 Orange Hunt
Spring Hill 3-1 Churchill Road 
Cleveland Park Library 3-0 Greenbriar West 

Standings after Matchday 6 of 8:
 
Spring Hill 155
Haycock 136
Kent Gardens 134
Oakton 123
Churchill Road 118
White Oaks 92
Cleveland Park 89
Willow Springs 82
Colvin Run 73
Greenbriar West 68
Orange Hunt 68
Ravensworth 42

 

 

Elementary Team League 2024-25 Matchday 5 Results

Only six teams were able to field teams this past Saturday in the Elementary Team League.  With the League scoring system weighted to incentivize participation, those schools that did send the full complement of four students to play gained ground on the rest of the field.

Round 9:

Spring Hill 3-1 Ravensworth
Churchill Road 1-3 Kent Gardens 
Haycock 3-1 Oakton

Round 10:
Kent Gardens 2-1 Oakton
Haycock 3-1 Spring Hill
Ravensworth 1-3 Churchill Road 

Standings after Matchday 5 of 8:
 
Spring Hill 127
Haycock 111
Oakton 110
Kent Gardens 110
Churchill Road 100
Cleveland Park 73
Greenbriar West 68
Willow Springs 66
Colvin Run 64
White Oaks 60
Orange Hunt 46
Ravensworth 34

 

Elementary Team League 2024-25 Matchday 4 Results

The current season of the Elementary Team League has reached the halfway point with the conclusion of the latest afternoon of match play this past Saturday at St. Luke’s.  We are happy to continue to see new faces among the students turning up to represent their schools.

At the top of the leaderboard, Spring Hill continues to set a brisk pace, defeating their closest rivals Oakton in Saturday’s second match to extend their lead in the overall standings.

Round 7:

Spring Hill 4-0 Greenbriar West
Ravensworth 0-2 White Oaks 
Orange Hunt 1-3 Oakton
Willow Springs 1-3 Haycock 
Kent Gardens 2-2 Cleveland Park Library
Churchill Road 2-1 Colvin Run

Round 8:
White Oaks 0-3 Kent Gardens
Oakton 1-3 Spring Hill
Haycock 2-2 Churchill Road 
Colvin Run 1-3 Orange Hunt
Cleveland Park Library 2 – 2 Willow Springs
Greenbriar West 4-0 Ravensworth

Standings after Matchday 4 of 8:
 
Spring Hill 113
Oakton 100
Haycock 93
Kent Gardens 88
Churchill Road 80
Cleveland Park 73
Greenbriar West 68
Willow Springs 66
Colvin Run 62
White Oaks 60
Orange Hunt 46
Ravensworth 34

Potomac Youth Chess League New Season is Underway

The 2025 season of the Potomac Youth Chess League, the online competition we run for middle schools in the greater Washington D.C. area, began on January 11.  Matches take place on lichess.com on Saturday afternoons. 

The League has grown to ten schools this year, with The Avalon School and Sligo Creek Middle School in Montgomery County, MD, Cooper Middle School and Longfellow Middle School in Fairfax County, VA, and San Miguel School in northwest DC all joining the competition for the first time.  Good luck to all the participating schools this season!
Round 1 Results - 1/11/2025

Two Rivers 0-8 Cooper

DCI 7-1 BASIS DC

San Miguel 0.5 – 7.5 Longfellow

Washington Latin 5-3 Avalon

Sligo 7.5-0.5 Ingenuity Prep 

Round 2 Results - 1/18/2025

Cooper – Sligo (match postponed)

Longfellow 7-1 DCI

Avalon 8-0 San Miguel

Ingenuity Prep 0.5 – 7.5 Washington Latin 

BASIS DC 8-0 Two Rivers

Round 3 Results - 2/1/2025

San Miguel – Ingenuity Prep (match postponed)

Two Rivers 0-8 Longfellow

DCI – Avalon (match postponed)

Washington Latin 5-3 Sligo

BASIS DC 4-4 Cooper

Round 4 Results - 2/8/2025

Sligo 8-0 San Miguel 

Longfellow 8-0 BASIS DC

Ingenuity Prep 0-8 DCI

Cooper 4-4 Washington Latin

Avalon 2-2 Two Rivers

Round 5 Results - 2/22/2025

Sligo 6.5-1.5 Longfellow

Ingenuity Prep 8-0 Avalon

Washington Latin 3.5-4.5 BASIS DC

Cooper 7-1 DCI

San Miguel 2-2 Two Rivers

Round 6 Results - 3/8/2025

Cooper 8-0 Longfellow

Two Rivers 1-7 Ingenuity Prep 

BASIS DC 8-0 Avalon

DCI 2-6 Sligo

San Miguel 0-8 Washington Latin

2025 League Standings

SchoolMatch PointsBoard Points (tiebreaker)
Sligo743
Longfellow639
Cooper5.540
Washington Latin536
BASIS DC3.525.5
DCI327
Ingenuity Prep324
Avalon113
Two Rivers05
San Miguel02.5

Elementary Team League 2024-25 Matchday 3 Results

Back from the winter break, the Elementary Team League resumed this past Saturday at St. Luke’s.  In the middle of a snowy, cold Saturday, we still had a decent turnout of students showing up to represent their schools.  

We’ve now entered the heart of the League season, this latest matchday being the first of six matchdays in the next twelve weeks.  Participation in the League is free and open to students in our after-school clubs, and there’s still time to sign up with your instructor to participate later on in the season.

Round 5:
White Oaks 2.5-0.5 Greenbriar West
Kent Gardens 1-3 Ravensworth 
Oakton 4-0 Haycock
Willow Springs 2-2 Colvin Run 
Spring Hill 3.5-0.5 Cleveland Park Library
Orange Hunt 0-4 Churchill Road 

Round 6:
Greenbriar West 1-2 Kent Gardens
Churchill Road 0-4 Oakton
Haycock 3-1 White Oaks 
Cleveland Park Library 3-0 Orange Hunt
Ravensworth 1.5 – 2.5 Willow Springs
Colvin Run 1.5 – 2.5 Spring Hill

Standings after Matchday 3 of 8:
 
Spring Hill 83
Oakton 80
Churchill Road 66
Haycock 65
Kent Gardens 64
Cleveland Park 53
Colvin Run 52
Willow Springs 52
White Oaks 50
Greenbriar West 48
Ravensworth 34
Orange Hunt 26

Elementary Team League 2024-25 Matchday 2 Results

This past Saturday afternoon was the second matchday for this year’s Elementary Team League.  In the middle of the hectic holiday season, we still had around 40 students show up at St. Luke’s to play.

Round 1:
Greenbriar West 2.5-1.5 Orange Hunt
Kent Gardens 1.5-2.5 Willow Springs
Spring Hill 4-0 White Oaks
Colvin Run 1-3 Oakton
Haycock 2-2 Cleveland Park Library
Churchill Road 3-0 Ravensworth

Round 2:
Orange Hunt 0.5-3.5 Kent Gardens
Oakton 3-1 Greenbriar West
White Oaks 0.5-3.5 Churchill Road
Cleveland Park Library 2-2 Colvin Run 
Ravensworth 0-4 Haycock
Willow Springs 1.5 – 2.5 Spring Hill

Standings after Matchday 2 of 8:
 
Spring Hill 55
Kent Gardens 50
Oakton 48
Haycock 47
Churchill Road 46
Greenbriar West 39
Cleveland Park 36
Colvin Run 35
White Oaks 33
Willow Springs 30
Orange Hunt 22
Ravensworth 13

Support Local Youth – Shop for a Christmas Tree With National Capital Optimist Club

For nearly a century, National Capital Optimist Club has been a positive presence for youth throughout the greater D.C. area.  NCOC has enlisted financial support for countless children’s charitable initiatives, including, for the past 20 years, the U.S. Chess Center.

National Capital Optimist Club’s annual Christmas tree sale is now in progress at Kensington Baptist Church.  Each tree sold helps provide funds for local youth enrichment initiatives.  If you are shopping for a tree for the festive season, we strongly urge you to consider coming to Kensington to support NCOC and the work they do.

Elementary Team League 2024-25 Matchday 1 Results

The new season of the Elementary Team League, the friendly competition we run for students enrolled in after-school chess clubs, has just begun.  We are grateful to St. Luke’s United Methodist Church of Tysons Corner for providing the venue for a fourth consecutive year.
 
Students from twelve schools — eleven in Northern Virginia and one in the District of Columbia — showed up at the church on Saturday for the first and second round of matches.  Kent Gardens and White Oaks are off to an early lead after winning their first two matches, with Spring Hill close behind in third.
Since the League began in the mid-1990’s, we’ve had thousands of students use this competition as a runway to build up their skills in preparation for stronger tournaments like the state and national championships.  Any student enrolled in one of our after-school clubs may sign up to represent their school team, and we especially encourage participation among children who haven’t played competitively outside of their school.  
 
The next match day for the League will be December 14.

Round 1:
Colvin Run 1-3 Haycock
White Oaks 3-1 Willow Springs
Spring Hill 2.5 – 1.5 Churchill Road
Oakton 1-3 Kent Gardens
Greenbriar West 3-1 Mixed Team
Ravensworth 1-2 Mixed Team
Orange Hunt 0-3 Mixed Team

Round 2:
Greenbriar West 1-3 Churchill Road
Spring Hill 2.5-1.5 Haycock
Orange Hunt 1-3 White Oaks
Colvin Run 2.5-1.5 Ravensworth
Mixed Team 1-3 Kent Gardens
Mixed Team 4-0 Willow Springs

Standings after Matchday 1 of 8:
 
Kent Gardens 28
White Oaks 28
Spring Hill 26
Churchill Road 21
Haycock 21
Greenbriar West 20
Oakton 20
Colvin Run 19
Cleveland Park 16 
Orange Hunt 12
Ravensworth 11
Willow Springs 10

Pictures from DCPL Battle of the Branches

Dozens of Washington chess enthusiasts turned out this past Saturday for D.C. Public Libraries’ Battle of the Branches.  Hosted at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library near the National Portrait Gallery in Northwest, the event had chess players from all over the city turning out to represent their favorite library branch.

The event had separate categories for children (ages 5-12), teens (ages 13-19), adults, and seniors, and all four age groups were well represented.  In the final standings, the host branch, MLK, came out on top, with Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Library placing second and Petworth Neighborhood Library taking third.

Rep. Raskin Recognizes the Chess Center in Congressional Remarks for National Chess Week

This past Friday, the U.S. Chess Center was proud to be named in U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (MD-08)’s congressional remarks for National Chess Week. 

In a statement celebrating the double medal-winning performances of the two American teams at September’s Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, Congressman Raskin also highlighted the value of chess as an educational and social tool for young people, a belief that has animated the work of the U.S. Chess Center since our founding.  

Congressman Raskin is a strong and enthusiastic chess player himself, and while celebrating the success of our country’s greatest grandmasters, he was also quick to emphasize that chess is a vocation not just for the sublimely talented; it enriches the minds of everyone who learns to play the game.  
 
You can read the remarks in their entirety here:

https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-170/issue-155/extensions-of-remarks-section/article/E1025-3 

 
 

Photos From a Great Season of Summer Camps

Our last week at Alpha STEM in Chantilly brought the curtain down on a fun summer of chess camps, during which we had around 150 kids enrolled with us.  We spent time teaching students in Springfield, Chevy Chase, McLean (two weeks) and Vienna (two weeks) prior to the aforementioned camp in Chantilly.

Some of our summer students we knew already from our after-school chess programs, while there were others we were happy to meet for the first time.  As usual during our camps, we had all ability levels represented; some of the kids were beginners who learned the rules and strategy of chess over the course of camp.  Other students used the time to build on the basic knowledge of the game that they already had.  All of our lessons were structured and stratified so that everybody was challenged to learn something new.

In between the lessons, the kids relieved some tension in the school gymnasium and made new friendships over skittles games.  Each Friday of camp finished up with a tournament, during which the students got to put what they’d learned during the week on full display.

Chess helped us all make a lot of great memories this summer, and with the new school year nearly upon us, we are already looking eagerly ahead to the start of our after school clubs in just a few short weeks.

Dozens of Students Beat the Heat at Chess in the Park

In spite of the heat, we had 61 students show up to Eastern Market Metro yesterday for the second edition of Chess in the Park for the season.  We ultimately cut the event 25 minutes short because of the weather, but a majority of the students got to play at least six games, with some playing as many as ten.

Over a dozen elementary and middle schools throughout the District of Columbia, Maryland and Northern Virginia were represented among the players.  BASIS DC took the trophy for the top-performing team.  St. Peter School fielded the largest team with 12 players (10 of whom were girls!)  Congratulations to all who participated.

 

In Memory of Norman Constantine, our Former Teacher

We are sad to announce the passing of Norman Constantine, who taught chess with us for many years. Mr. Constantine, or Mr. C as so many children knew him, was a gregarious man, a wonderful teacher who was as generous and kind as any educator could be.

Mr. C was known for giving books to students, especially classic literature and history books. In the chess world, he gave his time. He was responsible for keeping the Maryland Chess Association afloat during the 1980s and ‘90s, serving as Membership Secretary but doing much more.

He found sites for tournaments, directing some and assisting with others. He was instrumental in creating the Capital International Invitational tournaments in 1989 and 1990, the strongest chess tournaments ever held in Maryland. Both Vladimir Epishin and Maryland’s Alex Sherzer earned their first International Master norms at the 1989 event, helping to propel them both to the Grandmaster titles.

Mr. C taught not only history and computer science at the high school level, employed by the Newport Schools, St. Albans, Wakefield School and Annapolis’ St. Mary’s school, he sponsored chess clubs at each of them. Following his retirement as a classroom teacher, he accepted employment with the U.S. Chess Center, where he taught the youngest children in our Chess Kids classes on Saturday mornings, hosted Open Play on Saturday afternoons, and taught chess classes and clubs at schools including Burroughs Elementary in the District and Spring Hill Elementary in McLean.

Until recently, he would come to Bishops & Beers gatherings to engage in two of his favorite pastimes. He will be missed by all who knew him.