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 2023-2024 season will start in November 2023 and conclude with playoffs in late March or April 2024.
- • 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.
Players (students) should register individually (at no additional cost) at: https://chessctr.org/play/macl-player
Four players from each school and their coaches/sponsors will meet online or in-person.
Round 1: Week of November 13, 2023 –
Round 2: Week of December 5, 2023 –
Round 3: Week of January 9, 2024 –
Round 4: Week of January 23, 2024 –
Round 5: Week of February 6, 2024 –
Round 6: Week of February 20, 2024 –
Round 7: Week of March 5, 2024 –
Round 8: Week of March 19, 2024 –
Playoffs: TBD with top 4 teams in-person –
Bishop McNamara High School
Forestville, MD
DeMatha Catholic High School
Hyattsville, MD
Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School
Takoma Park, MD
Col. Zadok Magruder High School
Rockville, MD
George C. Marshall High School
Falls Church, VA
Jackson-Reed High School
Washington, DC
McKinley Technology High School
Washington, DC
Rockville High School
Rockville, MD
St. Albans School
Washington, DC
St. Anselm’s Abbey School
Washington, DC
Teams that have registered to participate in the 2023-2024 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.