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Gift Certificates!
$25 | $50 | $100

2026 Summer Chess Program
(5 Weeks - June 22, 2026 - July 24, 2026)

Sign up for one or more weeks

(Full day, Half-day and 3-day options available)

Flyer/Daily Schedule

HCC Upcoming USCF Tournaments
Each month we host the following three types of tournaments
(For a full listing, see the Events page)

July 18 (Sat) 1:00PM~5:45PM HCC July Game-in-45 Challenge G/45,d5; 3SS (Prizes: $600 b/24; 70% ($420) Guaranteed; Entry Deadline is Sat 11:00AM (2 hours before Rd 1); Open Section: $150-100, Top Female $50; U1600 Section: $125-75, Top Female $50; Biggest Upset in tournament $50). Prizes above guaranteed amount adjusted on pro rata basis based on actual entries. Players with tie score within section share prizes equally

July 20 (Mon) 6:30PM~9:15PM HCC July Action Quads Tournament G/25, d5; 3RR Quads; (Prizes $300 b/24; Winner of each quad: $50

July 31 (Fri) 6:00PM~8:45PM HCC June U1200 Beginner Open G/25,d5; 3SS (Prizes: $300 b/20): $150-$100; Top Female: $50; Trophies: Top U900, Top U600, Top Unrated; or choice of chess medals for those not receiving the above

GM Maxim Dlugy
 Date TBA
(This event is being rescheduled from its original date)
Lecture, Book signing, Simul
acclaimed chess author and 2025 CT State Champion
Sign up for Lecture (1:00PM), book signing (free - but must rsvp your name to info@playmorechess.com

Sign up for Simul (~2:15PM - Play a game with GM Dlugy) Registration: $30, by one week prior), $40 by Tues prior; $50 thereafter

2026-2027 Hamden Chess Team
Flyer and Schedule

For kids of all rating levels, organized by National Master Jordan Groff (Coach Jordan). This team is for Scholastic chess players who wish to play in larger USCF tournaments in the region during the course of the year. Full team year runs July 1-Jun 30. A half-year signup option is also now available. Discounts: $100 for current HCC club members and/or PMCA students; Also $100 discount for full year

Online Sign Up

National Master Jordan Groff (Coach Jordan) has several
new lesson time slots available (posted 05-11-26)

Reserve yours today

New HCC Membership Benefit:

The books listed are available for purchase, and HCC Members may borrow up to two books at a time for up to
30 days. from the HCC Chess book collection.
https://www.librarycat.org/lib/HamdenChessClub

Hamden Chess Club named Connecticut Chess Club of the Year for 2023 (and 2021) by Connecticut State Chess Association
Upcoming USCF and weekly online Tournaments, Adult Casual Play are listed on Events page

Chess Classes
for Kids (Year-Round)


*Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Classes - Eight class times offered each week

*Engaging learning, tournament play within each week's group

*Online and In-Person Options

*Includes option to participate tournaments at reduced rate; free online chess club participation

Sign Up

Hamden Chess Club

*Casual Play and USCF Tournaments


*In-Person Activities:
Casual Play Mondays & Thursdays; Monthly USCF- Rated tournaments for kids and adults
*Online Activities: 10+ tournaments each month with prizes
*HCC library borrowing access
*151 HCC members


 Sign Up

Chess Classes for Adults
(Fall, Winter, Spring)


Classes meet one evening
(two hours) per week

Fall 2026 Courses:

*Chess for Beginners
*Chess Tactics
*Chess Openings
*Chess Endgames

Sign up online at Hamden Adult Education or at PMCA for Adult Chess Classes

Upcoming Adult Chess Classes in partnership with Hamden Adult Education
(Offered in Fall 2026):

Fall 2026 (TUESDAYS, 6:30-8:30PM)
Taught by NM Jordan Groff

*Chess for Beginners (Sept 15, 22, 29; 6:30-8:30PM)
*Chess Tactics and Calculation (Oct 6, 13, 20; 6:30-8:30PM)
*Chess Openings (Nov 10, 17, 24; 6:30-8:30PM)
*Chess Endgames (Dec 1, 8, 15; 6:30-8:30PM)
  • Sign up for Adult Chess Classes at Hamden Adult Education web site at the respective course links or in-person at PMCA. The entire course catalog of Enrichment courses will be listed at: www.hamdenadulted.com.

Class Location: Play More Chess Academy, 1227 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06517

Congratulations:

Congratulations to our recent winners of HCC online and OTB tournaments (in Bold):

June 20: HCC June Beginner Open (U1200) Zijun Wang (1st); Wesley Hunter, Nicholas Read (tie-2nd); Trophies: Top U900: Dixon Phillip Yee; Top U600: Ian Chester; Top Unrated: Varun Selvaganesh
June 17: Praharsh Varada
June 15: HCC June Action Quads Quad 1 (Small Swiss): Three-way ties 1st: Aidan Breen, Dennis Jin, Nicholas Read
June 10: Matt Chan
June 1: Al Watrous
May 30: HCC May Game-in-45 Challenge (Open/U1600 sections were mergedfor pairing purposes) Open: 1st: Omkar Maralappanavar; U1600: 1st: Arya Tushar Shah 2nd: Dan Knowles; Biggest Upset in Tournament: Arya Tushar Shah; Top Female U1600: Elizabeth Smith
May 27: Todd Kearns
May 25: Gabi Rosenstein
May 20: Andy Slater


 As of June 25, 2026 $47,650 has been distributed in cash and prizes at the adult and kids tournaments (OTB and online) since our first tournament. See USCF cross tables for HCC tournaments and HCC Online tournaments on Lichess for cross-tables and lists of past tournaments.

Join the HCC, participate in our next tournament, and win a prize!

Recent News:

Newsletter:

Subscribe to our mailing list to find out about chess events, tournaments, chess classes and activities in the Hamden/New Haven area. You will receive our monthly newsletter at the beginning of the month.

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Play More Chess Academy
1227 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06517
Email: info@PlayMoreChess.com | Phone: 203.680.8456