Our Future

Learning a skill for life

The U.S. Chess Center teaches chess to children in the D.C. metro area as a means of improving their academic and social skills. As part of our mission, we seek out at-risk students in the area to provide free services to encourage them to stay on the right path. We teach more than 2,500 kids each week in our classes and involve thousands of others in chess through our tournaments and chess curriculum. In our first twenty years, we have taught about 30,000 individuals in our weekly classes.

Our program produces students who can achieve academic success, who can distinguish good choices from bad, and who enter higher education or the work force with the critical thinking and social skills they need to succeed.

The District of Columbia City Council passed a resolution proclaiming "Chess in the Schools Day" and noting our work teaching chess to children. Click here to see the details.