Chess tournaments in New York: Where to look for the best ones?

New York is the most popular city that our students hail from, but there still is not centralized place where all chess tournaments can be found. Players should have a reliable outlet of sources where you can find chess tournaments nearby- so we decided to make one!

Guess what? We found a tons of amazing tournaments out there.

Here's a list of some of the best chess tournaments hosted by some of the coolest Chess Clubs in New York. And hey! If you want to get better before you join these tournaments, why not try a trial lesson with a master at MM Chess Academy?

Marshall Chess Club

If you're in the New York chess scene, then you must have heard of the Marshall Chess Club, one of the most respected chess clubs in the world. It was founded in 1915 by Frank Marshall, one of the greatest US chess players in history, and has a rich history of organizing some of the most prestigious tournaments in the United States.

The club inclusive and offer a wide variety of tournaments in which any player can give test of their skills. Here’s a look at their event calendar. And here are some of the biggest tournaments they organize:

• Marshall FIDE Monday: This is a FIDE-rated tournament for players with a rating of 1800 or higher. It is held every Monday at 7 pm, with six rounds of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increment per move.

• Marshall Monday U1800: This is a tournament for players with a rating under 1800. It is held every Monday at 7 pm, with six rounds of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increment per move.

• Weekly U2200/U1600: It is held every Wednesday at 7 pm, with six rounds of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increment per move.

• Thursday Open: This is a FIDE-rated open tournament for players of any rating. It is held every Thursday at 7 pm, with six rounds of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increment per move.

• GM School Intermediate Class: This is an online class taught by GM Irina Krush, a seven-time US Women's Chess Champion. It is designed for players with a rating of 1400-1800 who want to improve their chess skills and understanding. It is held every Sunday from 2 pm to 4 pm, with four sessions per month. The topics covered include openings, middlegames, endgames, tactics, strategy, calculation, and more. The entry fee is $45 for members and $50 for non-members.

You can find more information and register online for these tournaments at the Marshall Chess Club website.

Tri-State Chess

Tri-State has been hosting chess events and programs for the community for more than 30 years (and we love that consistency)!

From outdoor chess events to major tournaments, here you can find just about everything you need to engage in chess activities and be part of the community. Visit their tournament page.

Some of the major events they organize are:

• Tri-State Chess Championship - Offered monthly and divided into 7 sections, they offer tournaments for everybody, from beginners to skilled players. These tournaments are celebrated in the Upper East Side of NYC

• Bryant Park Chess Tournaments - When the weather it’s warmer outside, every one of the over 250 regular attendants of these monthly tournaments knows what’s up. This is an excellent event to engage with the community and it’s done every month (when the weather allows)

• ChessMax Academy Tournaments - They partner to offer small tournaments each month, but we will get into that in just a minute!

Find out about more Tri-State Chess by visiting their website.

Photo by Q300 Chess Team

ChessMax Academy

They offer a safe and comfortable area for kids as well as waiting spaces for parents. Their location very close to Central Park West makes it a great choice to drop the kids off for the evening and have a walk around the park. They host a wide range of tournaments weekly! All of them are USCF-rated, something to have in mind before registering.

These are the events they organize weekly:

• Weekly Monday Rapids - As the name suggests, the tournaments consist of Rapid games, usually at afternoon-night (6:00p. m)

• Monthly Monday Open - 4-Round match using the Swiss method G/25 5

Have a look at their tournaments page.

Chess At Three

Also very close to Central Park, this time on the Upper East Side, (although they also offer tournaments at their Park Slope location in Brooklyn) their tournaments are geared toward children and offer great benefits like after-school pick-up.

These are non-rated and low-stakes tournaments that can do a lot to get used to these types of events. Every participant gets a golden chess piece they can collect, and awards for the top positions.

Pretty fun overall, although the community is not as vibrant and abundant as the previous offerings, this is a great starting point for every young chess player.

Make sure you check their tournaments page here.

If you’re looking for more chess tournaments in New York:

Check out this amazing event calendar! It has all we’ve shown and more, together with directions, contact details, dates, and organizers. I really recommend it if you’re looking for scholastics and more serious tournaments. This one is a similar similar.

Know of another club we missed? Share them with us and we'll update this post ASAP! And remember to subscribe to our Newsletter so that you will get all of our awesome online monthly tournaments!