Eastern Market Metro

Another great day of Chess in the Park on May 20th

Our second drop-in tournament this spring at Eastern Market Metro was held under blue skies this past Saturday, May 20.  Staged in cooperation with Barracks Row Main Street and the DC Department of Parks and Recreation, this event had over 40 students showing up to play over the two and a half hours.  The players ranged from grades 2 to 8, and from experienced USCF tournament players to first-timers.  

On June 24 we will hold a third and final Chess in the Park Tournament at Eastern Market Metro Plaza with the same format and again we will present awards to the top players, including top girl and top DC school (so encourage others from your school to register and play).  Pre-Register online for June 24 at: https://chessctr.org/play/easternmarketmetro/

Chess in the Park Kicks Off 2023 Season at Eastern Market Metro

Despite the gray skies and raw temperatures, 37 students representing 28 schools (14 of them in DC) came to play in the first of three Chess in the Park events the U.S. Chess Center is organizing at Eastern Market Metro Park. Working in collaboration with Barracks Row Main Street and the DC Parks and Recreation Department, we were happy to welcome children in grades 2-8 to a friendly competition.

For some players, this was their first tournament. Others were experienced players, arriving with national ratings. The event is held using an informal method in which players are matched with others as soon as they finish each game. Keeping waiting time between games to a minimum means that some people played only two games while others played as many as eight. This makes it more fun for everyone.

Former ANC Commissioner Brian Ready not only provided a welcoming atmosphere for the event, at the end he provided half-price coupons for chess players and their families to come to Smoke & Mirrors, a magic show at Miracle Theatre on May 25.

DC Councilmember Charles Allen, himself a chess player, came to distribute trophies and medals to those who won more games than they lost. Mr. Allen has been a great supporter of activities at the park, located in his ward.

Washington Latin won the team championship trophy, with Brent Elementary winning the second place team trophy.

We will help with similar events at the same location on May 20 and June 24.

Chess in the Park Comes to Eastern Market Metro

40 students showed up to Eastern Market Metro Park last Saturday, June 4 for the latest event in our series of casual drop-in tournaments.  We had a wide range of experience levels represented – some of the students were already seasoned tournament players while others were taking part in their first chess competition.

As always, it was nice to see new friendships being formed over games of chess.  We hope participating in events like these helps provide the experience and confidence the students can carry with them into other competitions.

Chess in the Park at Eastern Market Metro on June 4

Chess In The Park continues the first Saturday in June with a free outdoor tournament at Eastern Market Metro Park, staged in partnership with the DC Department of Parks and Recreation.  Any student in grades 2 through 8 may register to participate.

The tournament will follow a similar format to the event we recently held at Fairview Road Urban Park in Silver Spring.  The first round of games will begin at 10 a.m. and the tournament will finish up around 1.  Students who play need to be familiar with all of the rules of chess, including castling, stalemate and the touch-move rule.  No membership in any organization is required to take part.

There will be areas where family members and non-participants to wait during the games, but owing to space constraints, we will be unable to accommodate more than 40 students at the tournament tables at any one time, so early registration is encouraged.   Online sign-up is available here: https://register.chessctr.org/a/easternmarketmetro