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| Abbreviation | US Chess or USCF[1] |
|---|---|
| Formation | December 27, 1939 (1939-12-27) |
| Merger of | American Chess Federation (ACF), National Chess Federation (NCF) |
| Headquarters | 333 S 18th St. Suite 210 St. Louis, Missouri |
Region served | United States |
| Membership | 112,000+[3] (2022) |
President | Kevin Pryor (Florida) |
Vice President | John Fernandez (Missouri) |
Executive Director | Ranae Bartlett |
| Affiliations | FIDE |
| Staff | 22[2] |
| Website | uschess |
TheUnited States Chess Federation (also known asUS Chess orUSCF[1]) is the governing body forchess competition in theUnited States and represents the U.S. inThe World Chess Federation (FIDE). USCF administers the official nationalrating system, awards national titles, sanctions over twenty national championships annually, and publishes two magazines:Chess Life andChess Life Kids. The USCF was founded and incorporated inIllinois in 1939, from the merger of two older chess organizations. It is a501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered inSt. Louis, Missouri. Its membership as of 2024 was 112,000.[4]
In 1939, the United States of America Chess Federation was created in Illinois through the merger of the American Chess Federation and National Chess Federation. The American Chess Federation, formerly the Western Chess Association, held an annual open championship since 1900; that tournament, after the merger, became theU.S. Open.[5] The National Chess Federation, founded in 1927 to organize U.S. participation in theOlympiads, had held the prestigious invitationalU.S. Championship since 1936.[6]
The combined membership at the time was around 1,000.[7] Membership experienced consistent, modest growth until 1958, whenBobby Fischer won the U.S. Championship at the age of 14. This began the "Fischer era", during which USCF membership grew thirty-fold, to approximately 60,000 in 1974, after Fischer had won theWorld Chess Championship.
The Fischer era did not last long, but the USCF has grown substantially since then, largely because of the explosive growth ofscholastic chess. Annual national championship tournaments are now held at different grade and age levels; none of these tournaments, which now attract thousands of players, even existed prior to 1969.
At its founding, the USCF had no employees and no headquarters, but in 1952, it hired a Business Manager (the position eventually becameExecutive Director), headquartered in New York. In 1967, headquarters moved toNewburgh, New York;[8] in 1976,New Windsor, New York;[9] in 2006,Crossville, Tennessee;[10] and in 2022,St. Louis, Missouri.[11]
The U.S. Chess Federation has, in effect, two governing bodies.[12] The Board of Delegates, composed of 140 persons designated by the state affiliates, as well as some other categories, meets annually at the U.S. Open. The Executive Board, composed of eight persons elected by the membership to staggered four-year terms, meets monthly.
| Category | Rating range |
|---|---|
| Senior Master | 2400 and up |
| National Master | 2200–2399 |
| Expert | 2000–2199 |
| Class A | 1800–1999 |
| Class B | 1600–1799 |
| Class C | 1400–1599 |
| Class D | 1200–1399 |
| Class E | 1000–1199 |
| Class F | 800–999 |
| Class G | 600–799 |
| Class H | 400–599 |
| Class I | 200–399 |
| Class J | 100–199 |
US Chess implementsrating systems for chess players. In each system, a rating is a calculated numerical estimate of a player's strength, based on results in tournament play against other rated players. Tournament organizers submit results to US Chess, which carries out the calculations and publishes the results.
A player can have up to seven ratings: for correspondence games, for over-the-board games at regular (slow), quick, or blitz time controls, and for online games regular, quick, or blitz time controls. Ratings are posted online on the US Chess Player Search web page.[13] Ratings for over-the-board play range from 100 to nearly 3000, with a higher rating indicating a stronger player. Ratings are often used by tournament organizers to determine eligibility for "class" prizes, and eligibility to enter "class" sections, in tournaments.
USCF first instituted a rating system for over-the-board play in 1950, using a calculation formula devised byKenneth Harkness. In 1960, the USCF adopted a more reliable rating system invented byArpad Elo, a college professor of physics who was achess master. Elo worked with USCF for many years. The system he invented, or a variant of it, was later adopted byFIDE, and is utilized in other games and sports, including USA Today's college football and basketball rankings.[14] USCF has made further adjustments to the rating calculation over the years; the present calculation[15] was influenced by the "Glicko rating system"[16] developed by Prof. Mark Glickman, a significant refinement of Elo's system.
| Title | Rating Level |
|---|---|
| Life Senior Master | 2400 |
| Life Master | 2200 |
| Candidate Master | 2000 |
| 1st Category | 1800 |
| 2nd Category | 1600 |
| 3rd Category | 1400 |
| 4th Category | 1200 |
US Chess awardstitles for lifetime achievement. These should not be confused with thetitles awarded by FIDE, such asGrandmaster andInternational Master.[17]
US Chess awards a player who achieves a rating of 2200 or above the title ofNational Master and sends the player a certificate. Likewise, aSenior Master certificate is awarded for a rating of 2400 or higher. Until 2008, the only other title awarded was that ofLife Master, awarded to players who played 300 or more rated games while maintaining a rating above 2200.
In 2008, the USCF implemented a system of "norms-based titles", patterned after the titles awarded by FIDE: if a person has (for example) five tournaments in which they demonstrate strength above 2400, and if in addition their rating at some time eventually reaches 2400, then they earn theLife Senior Master title. The system is somewhat more complicated than this simple example suggests.[18] The old Life Master title was renamedOriginal Life Master to avoid confusion with the new Life Master title; both are recognized by US Chess.
US Chess organizes or sanctions various national championships. Most of these are held annually.
The oldest is theU.S. Open.[5] It began as the Western Open in 1900, held in Minnesota. It is the "congress" of US Chess – the annual meeting of the Delegates is held concurrently, as well as many smaller gatherings and events. Several hundred players participate (the highest number, 836, was at the 1983 event inPasadena).
Several invitational events are held concurrently with the US Open. Each US Chess state affiliate nominates a representative to each of the invitationals. The five invitationals are: The John T. Irwin National Senior Tournament of Champions (50+), The GMArnold Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions (9-12th Grade), The Dewain Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions (6-8th Grade), The John D. Rockefeller National Tournament of Elementary School State Champions (K-5th Grade), and The Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions (K-12). The FMSunil Weeramantry National Blitz Tournament of State Champions is a blitz tournament open to those participating in the other invitationals. Players generally qualify for these events by winning a state championship tournament, although each state affiliate is allowed to use any criteria for selecting its representatives.[19]
TheU.S. Championship, an invitational event, has been held since 1936. (For many years before that, the national championship had been decided by head-to-head match play.) Noteworthy past winners includeSamuel Reshevsky,Bobby Fischer,Walter Browne,Larry Evans,Gata Kamsky, andHikaru Nakamura. The current (2024) champion isFabiano Caruana.[20]
TheU.S. Women's Championship, also invitational, has been held since 1937. In recent years it has been held concurrently with the U.S. Championship. The current (2024) women's champion isCarissa Yip.[21]
The largest national championships are the Elementary (K-5), Middle School (K-8), and High School (K-12) Championships which are held annually in the spring. Every four years, the events are combined into "SuperNationals." The SuperNationals in 2017 drew 5,575 players toNashville, Tennessee and was the largest rated chess tournament ever.[22] The oldest of the three, the National High School, was first held in 1969 by the Continental Chess Association.[23]
The Elementary, Junior High, and High School championships should not be confused with the National K-12 Grades Championships, held in December, in which each grade level from K to 12 has its own championship.
Except for the U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship, the tournaments listed above are organized by US Chess itself. The US Chess calendar of national events[24] also includes several events which are bid out, including:[25]
| National Open | open |
| U.S. Junior Championship | invitational; under age 21 |
| U.S. Junior Open | under age 21 |
| U.S. Junior Congress | under age 21 |
| U.S. Cadet | invitational; under age 16 |
| U.S. Senior Open | open; age 50 or over |
| U.S. Senior Championship | invitational; age 50 or over |
| Pan-American Intercollegiate | college teams |
| President's Cup | top 4 from Pan-Ams; college teams |
| National Collegiate Rapid & Blitz Championships | college players |
| U.S. Masters | open; rating 2200 or over plus qualified juniors |
| U.S. Class Championships | open |
| U.S. Amateur (North, South, East, West) | rating under 2200 |
| U.S. Amateur Team (North, South, East, West) | teams rated under 2200 |
| All-Girls National | K-12 girls |
| U.S. Women's Open | women |
| U.S. Junior Girls | invitational; under age 21 |
| U.S. Senior Women's Championship | invitational; age 50 or over |
| U.S. Blind Championship | legally blind players |
| U.S. G/5; G/10; G/5; G/30; G/60 Championships | open |
US Chess also organizes national correspondence chess championships:
| Absolute Correspondence Chess Championship | invitational |
| Golden Knights | open; mail or e-mail |
| Electronic Knights | open; e-mail only |
US Chess publishes two magazines, the monthlyChess Life, and bi-monthlyChess Life for Kids, which is geared towards those under 14.Chess Life, which began in 1946 as a bi-weekly newspaper, is now a glossy full-color magazine of 72 pages per issue.
US Chess also publishes a rulebook. The current 7th edition is self-published by US Chess and produced in paperback andkindle forms. The most relevant chapters for over-the-board play are also available to download for free online from the US Chess website.
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
