Play More Chess Academy | Chess Classes, Lessons, Tournaments, Gifts | Home of the Hamden Chess Club in Hamden, CT

Hamden Chess Club:

Hamden Chess Club (HCC) is an affiliate (#A6054128) of US Chess that meets at the Play More Chess Academy for casual play, tournaments and special events. HCC was named 2021 Chess Club of the Year by the Connecticut State Chess Association.

HCC Membership dues:

Scholastic (K-12 and College) and Seniors (65+):
12 Months: $80 (Best Value); or $20 per month
Regular Adult Membership:
12 Months: $100 (Best Value); or $25 per month

As of January 2023 HCC has over 100 club members that participate regularly in weekly casual play and online and Over-the-Board tournaments at Play More Chess Academy.

Adult Casual Play
Club members have access to Play More Chess Academy to play casual games during open hours. Adult club members (ages 13+) meet regularly on Monday and Thursday evenings 6:30-8:30pm for casual play. (Under 13 may participate in casual play evenings if they have a USCF rating of 800+). Casual play is free for club members, guests/visitors can pay a day rate of $10 to participate. On the 3rd Monday evening of most months there is the Monthly Action Quads Tournament (and no casual play on those Mondays).

Hamden In-Person Tournaments
Sign up for upcoming in-person OTB tournaments by visiting the Sign Up page. HCC members receive a discounted entry fees on in-person tournaments.

Hamden Online Tournaments
HCC community members, including currently enrolled Play More Chess Academy students, may join the Hamden Chess Club on the lichess.org platform and play chess casually with each other and also participate in our weekly online club tournaments.

Online tournaments are held Mondays (Beginners-Max blitz rating 1400), Wednesdays (Advanced-Open to any rating level); and Saturdays (Intermediate-Max rating of 1700); Entry eligibility for online tournaments is based on participant chess rating on lichess and is free for HCC members.

A $20 prize, (usually an Amazon gift card) goes to the first place winner for tournaments that have at least four HCC participants. If there are less than four participants no prize will be awarded. Winner must have an annual HCC membership in good standing or be currently enrolled as a Play More Chess Academy student to receive a prize. HCC members are eligible to win online prizes up to 2X their membership fee (i.e. $200 in online prize winnings in a membership year for an adult 12 month membership). There is no limit to online tournament prize winnings for currently enrolled students.

Upcoming online tournaments are listed here: https://lichess.org/team/hamden-chess-club

To participate in an online tournament, first create a free account on lichess.org. Then send a "Join Team" request to Hamden Chess Club Team and include your real name with your join request. Once you are verified as a current HCC member or currently enrolled PMCA student you will be able to join any of our online tournaments and be eligible to win a tournament prize.

Tournament History
List of past Tournament First Place Winners and total prizes awarded. As of January 29, 2023, $14,870 in prizes have been awarded since our first tournament (PDF).

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