Guide to Philadelphia Area Chess Tournaments 

(last updated 10/24/2011 )

by National Master and Full-Time Chess Instructor  Dan Heisman (610-649-0750)

Local Tournament and Event Page - periodic tournaments at the Club Page!
Main Chess Page -
Philadelphia Area Chess Clubs


Note: All large open events are advertised at

  www.uschess.org/tla or in Chess Life Magazine

1.CONTINENTAL CHESS ASSOCIATION (CCA) BIG! –

·  What – World Open, Philadelphia Open, National Chess Congress, Liberty Bell – Multi-day slow tournaments with high entry fees and very large prizes.  About 1,500 play annually at the World Open with $180,000 in prizes! (I have nothing to do with the organization of these CCA events)

 

·  Where – Sheraton Hotel, 17th and the Parkway, Philadelphia.

 

·  When – July 4 week (World Open - but not 2012-2014), Easter (Philadelphia Open), Thanksgiving Weekend (National Congress), Martin Luther King Weekend in January (Liberty Bell) – Many different playing schedules within each tournament are available.

 

·  Who – In Multiple Sections by rating; World Open has many less expensive side events at faster time limits.  The National Chess Congress has main sections with rating limits as low as "Under-600".

2.PENNSYLVANIA STATE CHESS FEDERATION (State Championships for Scholastic and all-ages, etc).

·  What – The huge State Scholastic Chess Championship at Carlisle in March usually has ~700 entrants in all sections, plus the PA State Championship and other events.

 

·  Where – The Scholastic Championship at Carlisle and the State (all-ages) Championship rotates around the state. The PA Senior Championship (age 50+) is held in various places.

 

·  When – The PA Scholastic Championships in Carlisle is usually early March. The PA State Championship is usually in August.

·  Who – Scholastics (K-12) and others are for all.

 

3.  Greater Philadelphia Scholastic Chess Championship (Elementary and MS/HS Tournaments)

·  What – Big, scholastic-only events with lots of trophies and ribbons - The 2011 event had almost 200 entries!.

 

·  Where – 2012 will be in Wayne, PA

 

·  When – Usually one each year in the Fall, usually November – registration ends 9:30; rounds start at 10 AM.  You must register in advance to avoid a first round bye (see web page for details). And your registration with all full information and correct fees must be received about 10 days in advance to qualify for a discounted entry fee. The 2009 and 2010 editions were in March.

 

·  Who – K-12, Several Sections: K-1, Primary (K-3), Elementary (K-6) Middle School (K-8), High School (K-12) - Each year this determines the Elementary, Middle School, and High School area champions for both individuals and team!

4. The Delaware Valley Open Championship - The official area championship! Open to anyone from anywhere!

·  What - A medium-entry and prize. About 100 played in 2010.

·  Where - in 2010 was in NE Philadelphia

·  When - For 2012, ??

·  Who - For all ages. For players of all levels.

5. Silver Knights Chess- Scholastic Events held frequently

6.  LOCAL Clubs

·  What – Weekly (or monthly) tournaments held for club members (monthly tournaments   may be open to all) The North Penn Chess Club in Landsdale hosts a monthly tournament, usually the third Saturday of the month at the St. John’s United Church of Christ at Rt. 63 and Richardson, as does the Allentown Chess Club. Bensalem hosted monthly quads, which are tournaments broken into groups of four by rating. MasterMinds CC and many more clubs on the Club Page.

 

·  Where – Main Line Chess Club (Gladwyne); North Penn Chess Club (Landsdale); West Chester CC, Roslyn CC, Shotokan CC (NE Phila), UPenn CC; Chaturange CC, Franklin-Mercantile CC etc. See our Club Page for more information on each club and links to most.

 

·  When – Weekly tournament's are on each club's meeting dates (Main Line CC: Tuesdays; North Penn CC: Fridays; West Chester CC: Wednesdays); others on weekends

 

·   The Main Line Chess Club holds occasional "Quads" and weekly rated games on Tuesday nights at Waverly Heights Life Care Retirement Community Center, 1400 Waverly Rd., Gladwyne, PA (see map on the Main Line Chess Club page)

 

·  Who – For all ages.  Check www.uschess.org/tla on the web or in the last pages of Chess Life Magazine for details


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