Chess Links

Here are some Web sites we think are useful for kids who are learning chess and the adults who are helping them. Feel free to suggest others.  Thanks.

Chess for Kids. This a good site for all the chess basics: rules, openings, tactics, and puzzles. 

Chess Kids Academy. This site is really fun!  Go there and wait for the navigation bar at the top of the page to load (it takes an extra second or two).  Click "Kids," then "Games."  Choose your level and enjoy playing the computer!  Then explore the rest of the site.

Chess4Chicago. When it comes to scholastic chess in the Chicago area, this is the unofficial headquarters, the place to go for information about local tournaments and other local events, special features, and the latest news. It's the handiwork of Lamarr Wilson, an educational tech guru and former chess coach at Chicago’s Joplin Elementary School.  

Tuley Park Chess Club. Tom Fineberg is Mr. Chess on the South Side of Chicago.  In addition to the club, he’s been known to stage tournaments in Hyde Park’s Harper Court, when they’ll let him, that is. (Long story; don’t ask.) Tuley Park holds regular tournaments at which kids and adults are welcome.  You have to be a USCF member to play (see next item), but if you're not you can join right there at the club.

U.S. Chess Federation.  The USCF is the official governing body of organized chess in the United States.  Anyone serious about chess will eventually want to join. And if you want a chess rating, this is the place to get it.

Maurice Ashley.  The first African-American grandmaster cuts a dashing figure in the chess world.  Whenever chess is covered on ESPN (which is not very often) Ashley is a regular commentator.  

64 Square Jungle. Chess meets blogging.  This popular local weblog is published by the mysteriously monikered “chessdad64.”  Don't tell anyone, but he’s actually Brad Rosen, proud father of chess prodigy Eric Rosen.  Chessdad64 writes with an energy seldom found in chess journalism as he covers the scene in Illinois, the Chicago area, and the world beyond.

Chicago Chess Kids. Also known as the Chicago Chess Academy, this is one of the city’s most successful chess clubs for kids. Saturday-morning meetings are open to all, and while it’s a long way to schlep from Hyde Park, we’re told the pilgrimage is worth the effort.     

The Chess Drum.  An interesting and eclectic site devoted mainly, though not exclusively, to African-American chess players.  It’s the creation of Daaim Shabazz, a Florida professor. 

Polgar Sisters.  Anyone who thinks chess is just for guys hasn’t paid much attention to the game lately.  Some of today’s most exciting players are women, and few among them more so than the remarkable Polgar sisters of Hungary --  Judit, Sofia, and Susan.  Judit (on the left) is the eighth-ranked chess player in the entire world and the greatest female player of all time.  Susan (on the right), also a grandmaster, now lives in New York and has done a great deal to inject energy and excitement into American chess. Among other things, she’s organized major tournaments in Chicago for girls.