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 2022-2023 season started in November 2022 and concluded with playoffs in April 2023.

Schools that are interested in participating should contact us at: hs-league@chessctr.org

Any high school in the DC metro area may field a team.
Matches will be played Tuesday evenings at 7:30 pm ET, starting November 15, 2022, on lichess.org. See below for schedule.
Teams are four players, not necessarily the same four each match, all registered students in their schools in grades 9-12.

Four players from each school and their coaches/sponsors should join the Zoom starting at 7:15pm ET.
Matches begin promptly at 7:30 pm and ordinarily are over by 8:30 pm.

Round 1: November 15, 2022 – RESULTS
Round 2: December 6, 2022 – RESULTS
Round 3: January 10, 2023 – RESULTS
Round 4: January 24, 2023 – RESULTS
Round 5: February 7, 2023 – RESULTS
Round 6: February 21 (for MD/VA) or 28 (for DC), 2023 – RESULTS
Round 7: March 7, 2023 – RESULTS
Round 8: March 21, 2023 – RESULTS

Playoffs: Saturday, April 15, 2023 with top 4 teams in-person – RESULTS

Arlington Career Center
Arlington, VA

BASIS DC
Washington, DC

Bishop McNamara High School
Forestville, MD

Col. Zadok Magruder High School
Rockville, MD

DeMatha Catholic High School
Hyattsville, MD

Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School
Takoma Park, MD

E.L. Haynes Public Charter School
Washington, DC

Eastern Senior High School
Washington, DC

Falls Church High School
Falls Church, VA

Georgetown Preparatory School
North Bethesda, MD

Gonzaga College High School
Washington, DC

IDEA Public Charter School
Washington, DC

Langley High School
McLean, VA

McKinley Technology High School
Washington, DC

McLean High School
McLean, VA

Montgomery Blair High School
Silver Spring, MD

Richard Montgomery High School
Rockville, MD

Rochambeau French International School Bethesda, MD

Rockville High School
Rockville, MD

Sandy Spring Friends School
Sandy Spring, MD

Seneca Valley High School
Germantown, MD

Sidwell Friends School
Washington, DC

St. Albans School
Washington, DC

St. Anselm’s Abbey School
Washington, DC

St. John’s College High School
Washington, DC

W.T. Woodson High School
Fairfax, VA

Washington International School
Washington, DC

West Springfield High School
Springfield, VA

Winston Churchill High School
Potomac, MD

Teams that have registered to participate in the 2022-2023 season of the Metro Area Chess League are listed above.

The Theophilus Thompson Chess Club

MACL students might also be interested in the Theophilus Thompson Chess Club, a weekly class for students in grades 7-12 that meets on Sundays from 1:30pm – 5:00pm ET. The class meets in-person on the second floor of 1340 Old Chain Bridge Rd, McLean, VA 22101 (Map). Our teachers provide instruction to beginners and help more advanced players improve their strategy. We play nationally rated games most weeks so students must also be USCF members. Lessons are challenging and informative for all students.

Sometimes we play with other students from across the country and around the world. We have had online matches with students from China, Czech Republic, Iceland, Montenegro, Norway, Spain, Ukraine, and Zambia. We have hosted teams visiting Washington from a variety of states and we took several students on a great chess trip to Cuba.

The Club is named after Theophilus Thompson, a trailblazing chess player and problemist: learn more about him.