We love chess, and we love Chicago.

We're working to create a permanent home for chess in Chicago: An open and welcome gathering place, the focus of a vibrant, expanded chess scene. A place where young people can receive high-quality chess teaching in a safe and friendly environment. A place where curious beginners and experience-seekers can discover chess as an enjoyable and beneficial activity that everyone can participate in. A place that restores Chicago's standing among great American chess cities.

Chicago today is the only urban area among the 10 most populous in the nation which does not have a primary metropolitan chess club serving the center city as well as the surrounding areas. More than one-third of Chicagoland residents live in the city of Chicago, yet 90 percent of all rated chess competitions in Chicagoland take place in the suburbs.

A world-class city deserves a full-time chess center . . . in the city.

Educators have known for nearly 40 years that chess improves academic performance, developing not only young people's logical reasoning skills but also their "soft skills": patience, attentiveness, self-discipline, conflict management, resilience, and connecting effort and practice with success. Older brains also benefit from the challenge and stimulation of chess. Additionally, chess players have an insatiable appetite for over-the-board discussion and analysis—one of the chief means by which they deepen their understanding of the game, aside from conventional teacher–student instruction. As area chess organizers have largely bypassed Chicago in favor of the suburbs, city residents of all ages have missed out on many of these benefits.

Donate now to help us open our doors in 2014. Your generosity will help us secure a lease on a site, obtain furniture and equipment, and begin offering classes and events.

Contribute $250 or more to become a member of our Founders’ Court and receive all the benefits of membership plus free instruction, access to exclusive events and more—or give whatever amount you can afford.

And please feel free to contact us for more information.