The Saint Louis Chess Club (STLCC) was founded in 2007 and opened its doors in July of 2008. It is a nonprofit organization that is committed to promoting the game of chess locally, nationally, and internationally with a specific focus on bringing the benefits of chess to Saint Louis area school children. It is open seven days a week and offers kids classes, adult beginner classes and intermediate classes free for members on a weekly basis.

Located in the historic Central West End of Saint Louis, the STLCC is a three-level, 6,000-square-foot community center featuring a classroom, library and world-class tournament hall. The STLCC is widely recognized as the premier chess facility in the nation and one of the best in the world. In 2014, the United States Senate passed a resolution naming Saint Louis the country’s Chess Capital due to its work in raising the awareness of chess and its benefits.

The STLCC’s scholastic mission brings chess to students in school and has been rapidly expanding. The club implemented programming in hundreds of different classrooms and community centers across the Greater Saint Louis area, affecting thousands of students each year. In addition to the club’s affordable student rates, it offers summer camps, field trips, private lessons and free classes in an effort to make the game accessible to all students.

Saint Louis has become the home of the three most prestigious, invitational chess tournaments in the United States. The STLCC has hosted the U.S. Championship and the U.S. Women’s Championship since 2009, as well as the U.S. Junior Championship since 2010. In 2017, the STLCC introduced the U.S. Juniors Girls’ Championship to its roster of national tournaments. In 2022 the STLCC broadened its tournament list with the addition of the American Cup, an exciting double-elimination tournament that features rigorous classical time controls as well as fast-paced rapid matches. In 2019, the STLCC added Chess 9LX as an entertaining exhibitional tournament. Chess “9LX”, a stylized spelling of “960” with Roman numerals, is a Fischer Random tournament, a unique format in which the starting position of chess pieces is randomized, making players think on their feet, and develop strategies and solutions on-the-fly. To find out more about the invitational tournaments the STLCC offers, click here.

The STLCC also hosts one of the highest rated international tournaments in the world, Sinquefield Cup, as a stop on the Grand Chess Tour. In 2017, the STLCC introduced the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, which is another stop on the Grand Chess Tour and invites international players to participate in faster time-controls, as opposed to the classical Sinquefield Cup. To further promote women in chess, in 2019, the STLCC introduced the Cairns Cup for the top female players from around the world. The tournament was aptly named after its co-founder, Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield.

Club Milestones & Recognition