Chess clubs are and have been the core of chess in the United States. They are important and deserve our support and the support of our national FIDE affiliated organization, US Chess. If you are a member of US Chess, please ask Carol Meyer ( cmeyer@uschess.org ), the Executive Director, what US Chess is actually doing to support and grow local over the board chess clubs.
From the 19th Century, here are two listings of clubs then existing in the US. Some of them still exist either continuously operating or in revived form. Support your local chess club!
https://books.google.com/books?id=08BAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA317&lpg=PA317&dq=Batavia+Chess+Club&source=bl&ots=bX0xOP3AsH&sig=ACfU3U0O_jKDcBMl56uxy0WHrbo7rcMoJQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjKk8rtz_LgAhXF7YMKHevrCVgQ6AEwB3oECAAQAQ#v=onepage&q=Batavia%20Chess%20Club&f=false
And from ChessManiac.com
Early chess clubs in America appeared in almost every major city staring in the early 1800s. It was a place to play chess and hold matches and tournaments. The telegraph was the Internet of the 19th century and many clubs played against other clubs in telegraph matches. Chess clubs are dying now, but here is a list of early chess clubs that had a 100 to as many as 1,000 members at one time. Most are gone now, but a few remain today.
Amateur Chess Club (1859- ) in Philadelphia.
Albany Chess Club (1886- ). Located at the Union Railroad Depot in Albany, New York. Organized in February, 1886.
Anderssen Chess Club (1859- ) in Philadelphia.
Athenuaem Chess Club (1814- ). Chess Club located at 6th Street and Walnut in Philadelphia. It disbanded and re-formed in 1847 at 6th and Adelphi.
Atlanta Chess and Checker Club (1887- ).
Augusta Chess Club (1859- ) in Augusta, Georgia.
Baltimore Chess Club (1881- ). It met at Charles and Saratoga Street and had over 110 members.
Bassford’s Chess Rooms (1837). In New York.
Batavia Chess Club (1898- ). In Batavia, NY.
Beverly Hills Chess Club (1921- ).
Bishops Chess Club (1897- ). Located in Brooklyn.
Boston Chess Club (1845-1848). It started out with 20 members. It was reorganized in 1857 and incorporated in 1888. It met at the corner of Fremont and Montgomery.
Boston Young Men’s Christian Union (YMCU) Chess Club (1855- ).
Boylston Chess Club (1919-Present). Boston chess club still going strong.
Bridgeport Chess Club (1859) in Connecticut.
Brooklyn Chess Club (1852- ). At one time, it was the largest chess club in America.
Brooklyn Institute Chess Club (1911- ).
Buffalo Chess Club (1872- ).
Café Logeling (1877). Located on 49 Bowery Street in Lower Manhattan. It later became the Manhattan CC.
Café Europa (1870-1872). Chess club located in New York.
Camden Chess Club (1897- ). In New Jersey.
Carrollton Chess Club (1887- ). Located in Carrollton, Georgia.
Caxton Club (1895) at 1411 Fulton Street in Brooklyn.
Charleston Chess Club (1858- ).
Chicago Chess Club (1859- ). It met at 85 Dearborn St and the Portland Block.
Cincinnati Chess Club (1859- ).
Cleveland Chess Club (1855- ). It met at 216 Superior St.
Columbia Chess Club (1887- ). Chess club at Columbia College in New York.
Columbus Chess Club (1859) in Columbus. Ohio. Its first president was A.B. Buttles.
Cornell Chess Club (1868-1869 ).
Cosmopolitan Chess Club (1872- ). Located at the Café Cosmopolitan in New York City.
Dallas Chess Club (1885- ).
Damiano Chess Club (1896- ) at the College of the City of New York.
Danites Chess Club (1878- ). Located in Brooklyn.
Dayton Chess Club (1888).
Denver Chess Club (1859).
Detroit Chess Club (1881- ). Its first president was H.M. Keeler.
Dubuque Chess Club (1858- ). Founded by Louis Paulsen (1833-1891) in Iowa.
Federal City Chess Club (1835- ). Located in Washington, DC.
Franklin Chess Club (1884-1955). Located at 1037 Walnut Street in Philadelphia.
Galveston Chess and Whist Club (1891- )
Germantown Chess Club (1897- ). Met at the YMCA in Germantown, PA.
Grand Rapids Chess Club (1888- ).
Golden Gate Chess Club (1885- ). Located in San Francisco. Its first president was Dr. Benjamin Marshall.
Harvard Chess Club (1874-Present).
Herman Steiner chess Club (1932). Founded by Herman Steiner in Hollywood, California.
Indianapolis Chess Club (1885- ).
Jeffersonian Chess Club (1888- ). Located at 101 West 10th Street in New York City.
Kenosha Chess Club (1867- ) in Wisconsin.
Knights Chess Club (1896) in Brooklyn.
La Bourdonnais Chess Club (1888) at Columbia College in NY.
Lafayette Chess Club (1859) in Indiana.
Leadville Chess Club (1885- ). Located in Leadville, CO.
Lexington Chess Club (1846- ). Located in Lexington, KY.
Log Cabin Chess Club (1934- ). Founded by E. Forry Laucks in West Oranged, NJ.
Louisville Chess Club (1846 – ). It met at the Polytechnic Building on Fourth Ave.
Manhattan Chess Club (1877-2002). It started out with 37 members.
Marshall Chess Club (1915-Present).
Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club (1854-Present). Its original building was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It was rebuilt in 1909.
Memphis Chess, Checkers & Whist Club (1896-Present). It was located above the Southern Express Office on North Court.
Milwaukee Chess Club (1857-1883). The chess club burned down in 1883 and was re-formed in 1887.
Minneapolis Chess Club (1887- ). Located in St. Paul, MN.
Monumental Chess Club (1858) in Baltimore.
Morphy Chess Club (1859) in Washington, DC.
Mount Auburn Chess Club (1886- ). Located in Cincinnati.
Nashville Chess Club (1881).
New Haven Chess Club (1859- ) in Connecticut.
New Orleans Chess Club (1838-1841, 1857-). In 1857, Paul Morphy was its President.
New Orleans Chess, Checker, and Whist Club (1880-1935). At one time, it had over 1,000 members. In 1890, it burned down, destroying all of its Morphy memorabilia. It was located at the corner of Baronne and Canal Streets.
New York Chess Club (1803-1804, 1869- ). Perhaps the first chess club in the United States. It was located at the Carlton House.
New York Divan (1835-1837).
Newark Chess Club (1887- ). Located at 842 Broad St. at Beecenow’s Restaurant.
Norfolk Chess Club (1840- ). Located in Norfolk, VA.
North Saint Louis Chess Club (1887- ).
Omaha Chess Club (1890).
Paul Morphy Chess Club (1881- ). Located in Brooklyn in Werney’s Place.
Philadelphia Chess Club (1827-1830). Formed after a visit by Maelzel and the Turk automaton.
Philadelphia Chess Club (1859-1867). Formed after a visit by Paul Morphy to the city.
Philidor Chess Club (1875- ). Chess club located on Meserole Street in Brooklyn.
Pittsburgh Library Chess Club (1881- ).
Pollock Chess Club (1890- ). Located in Hagerstown, Maryland.
Press Chess Club (1864-1874). An active chess club in Philadelphia.
Princeton Chess Club (1883- ).
Providence Chess Club (1887- ). Located in Providence, Rhode Island.
Quaker City Chess Club (1883- ) in Philadelphia.
Quincy Chess Club (1859- ) in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Richmond Chess Club (1884- ). Located in Richmond, VA.
Rochester Chess Club (1897- ). Located in Rochester, NY.
Rockford Chess Club (1878). Located at Rockford Female Seminary in Illinois.
Rutherford Chess Club (1888- ). Located in Rutherford, NJ.
Sacramento Chess Club (1897). Its first president was G. Dixon.
Saginaw Chess Club (1897- ). Located in Saginaw, NY.
Saint Louis Chess Club. Founded by Max Judd in the 1840s. It met at the corner of Ninth and Olive Streets.
Saint Paul Chess Club (1888- ). Located in St Paul, MN.
San Antonio Chess Club (1888-Present). Oldest chess club in Texas.
Scranton Chess Club (1887- ). Located in Scranton, PA.
Seattle Chess Club (1879- )
Spokane Chess Club (1899-Present)
Springfield Chess and Checker Club (1897) in Springfield, MA. It was held at the Union Christian Association.
Staten Island Chess Club (1890- ) at 10 Bay Street, Tompkinsville.
Steinitz Chess Club (1897- ). Located in Brooklyn.
Syracuse Chess Club (1858- ) in New York.
Tacoma Chess Club (1891-Present). My first chess club.
Toledo Chess Club (1888- ).
Trenton Chess Club (1897- ). Located in Trenton, NJ.
Turn-Verein Chess Club (1887- )
Union Chess Club (1859- ). It was located at 224 Grand Street in New York and composed mostly of Germans.
University of Pennsylvania Chess Club (1895- ).
Washington Chess Club (1839). Located in Washington, DC. It met at the St. Cloud Building on 9th and F Streets.
West Point Chess Club (1845- ). Founded by Hyacinth Agnel. Meetings were held at the quarters of the professors or officers.
Wilkes Barre Chess Club (1887- ). Located in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Wilmington Chess Club (1887- ). Located in Wilmington, Delaware.
Women’s Chess Club (1894-1949). Located in New York.
Yale Chess Club (1856- ).
Other 19th century chess clubs: Burlington, Cactus in Kansas, Castle CC in Brooklyn, Elizabeth in NJ, Kenwood CC in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Spartanburg, Urbana.
– Bill Wall
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