College Chess League Tournament Set to Begin

The College Chess League enters its second year, with a spring team event scheduled to begin Sunday, February 24. Games are to be played Sunday afternoons in a four-round swiss format, at a pace of game/90, with a 30-second increment per move.

As of this writing, 14 teams from eight universities have registered, but there is still time for additional teams to join (but not much - registration closes tomorrow evening!). No prizes or trophies are awarded, but there are also apparently no fees to pay.

For more information, visit the College Chess League home page, or you can go directly to their registration page.

Start a College Chess Club!

An instructive "how to" article has been posted at Susan Polgar's blog, written by Gregory Alexander, Associate Chair of the College Chess League (CCL).

It describes in detail how to begin a chess club at your college or university, from the ground up. "All it takes is one to leader to get your club off the ground," he says. "Don't worry about your playing strength," he continues. "It is much more important to have a solid organizer lead the club than someone who plays a strong game of chess. What is needed is good leadership."

A comprehensive list of university chess clubs is available at the CCL Community Page. For more information, Gregory can be contacted at gregorya@u.washington.edu.