We normally do not meet on the 4th week of the month but this month we do! We did not have a meeting during the week of the US Open — therefore we are making it up with a 4th week meeting. Here is what’s happening:

Casual Play - 6:30-9:00pm - Members 12+ play casually

USCF-Rated - 7:00-9:00pm - Rounds 3 and 4 of our August Action Event. G/25;d5.

Hope to see you there!

Hello GRCC Community,

We are excited to see the US Open kick off this week. Side events, main events, multiple schedules, and more are coming to the US Open. Follow USchess.org to ensure you pay attention to special opportunities and events happening during the event.

Check out this graphic for the essential information!

After the US Open we have an exciting learning opportunity hosted by one of our very own National Masters — Wayne Gradle.

Plus our action schedule returns next week with a G/25;d5 rated event, casual play is back, and more!

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns!

Grand Rapids Chess Center

We meet against tonight for more chess! Check out below what tonight’s schedule will look like.

Casual Play: Members 12+ can play casually from 6:30-9:00pm.

USCF-Rated Play: Round 4 of our Summer Swiss tonight! 7:00-9:00pm with pairings happening at 6:55pm. Don’t show up after 6:50pm if you hope to be paired!

We continue to have an incredible turnout at the Grand Rapids Chess Center. 31 players are registered for our current USCF-rated event. This is a record! Plus, our casual space has been packed out each week with regulars and new visitors and members. It has been really fun to see the growth!

Some announcements and tonight’s schedule!

August 18th - Gradl Learning Lab

August 18th we will kick off regular offerings from National Master Wayne Gradl. He is a strong player, highly skilled, and a really effective communicator regarding chess. Take advantage of this opportunity!

Tonight’s Schedule

Doors open at 6:30!

Casual Play: 12+ Members play from 6:30-9:00pm.

USCF-Rated Play: Summer Swiss, Round 3! G/45;d10.

Upcoming Summer Schedule:

21st - OPEN

28th - OFF

August 4th - OFF DUE TO US OPEN

August 11th - OPEN

August 18th - OPEN

August 25th - SPECIAL MEETING OPEN (UNLESS SPACE IS NOT AVAILABLE)

We are back to our original schedule. Which means we are open the 21st (originally planned as closed due to travel) and off the 28th (which would have been open but is not).

Tonight our Summer Swiss continues along with our casual play. It has been busy at the chess center this summer, which is fantastic for our chess community!

Upcoming Learning Opportunity: National Master Wayne Gradl is planning to hose a seminar on the Dragon Sicilian. He is an expert in this line, with published analysis, and is planning to offer cutting edge theory and application in this line. Interested players should prioritize this opportunity!

Details coming soon!

We do have chess this week and look forward to a restful holiday this weekend. Check out what’s happening below:

Tonight

Casual Play - 12+ Members (and guests) play 6:30-9:00pm

USCF-Rated Play - Summer Swiss kickoff! We will use accelerated pairings and we continue to expect 15-20 rated players each night. G/45;d10 time control and four rounds across four weeks.

GRCC Kids - No kids meeting until September! Enjoy the summer.

Summer attendance is incredible and that is a result of our wonderful community. Thank you for being a part of that. We have had 40-60 each week in June, with no kids' program since it's summer. This is an incredible number!

Tonight there is NO meeting because it's the 4th week. Next week we are BACK ON and will return to our casual and rated spaces being open.

Looking forward to having you join us!

Michael Brooks
President Grand Rapids Chess Center

Tonight’s Meeting:

Casual Play: 12+ Members play from 6:30-9:00pm.

USCF-Rated Play: June Action Rounds 3-4; 7:00-9:00pm

Scholastic Quads: Cancelled and will Return in August!

Looking forward to seeing you tonight!

We have had amazing attendance to kick off summer. we have 50+ in the building last week with several new faces. This is by far our best summer meeting in a while. Let’s keep the momentum going!

Tonight’s Meeting:

Casual Play: 12+ Members and Guests play from 6:30-9:00pm
USCF-Rated Play: June Action (9th and 16th) G/25;d5 - two games in one night and we start the games at 6:55PM! The goal is to be done with both rounds by 9:00!

Last Week’s Tournament Rating Report

We had one member need to update their membership for our Spring Swiss. Once that is updated it will be submitted for rating!

Looking forward to having you join us!

Michael Brooks
President Grand Rapids Chess Center

We are now into our full summer schedule and wanted to give some updates.

Tonight:

We do meet tonight and unlike what was listed on the schedule we will be finishing our 4th round of the Spring Swiss! So, please come and play in the final round of the Spring Swiss.

Doors open at 6:30 (set up is much quicker so doors will not open until 6:15)!

Casual Play 6:30-9:00pm with our USCF-Rated play starting at 7:00pm.

Upcoming Closure Dates:

• July 21st - CLOSED DUE TO LEADERSHIP TRAVEL

• August 4th - CLOSED DUE TO PRESENCE OF US OPEN (GO ENJOY THE US OPEN IN GR!

May 19th - GRCC Regular Meeting

• - Casual Play: 6:30-9:00 pm 12+ (Age restrictions applied)

• - USCF-Rated Play: 7:00pm Spring Swiss Continues; G/45;d10

• - GRCC Kids: CLOSED FOR THE SUMMER - See you in September!

Upcoming Summer Activities

- Summer Camp for Kids Wednesday/Thursday - DETAILS COMING SOON

- Sicilian Dragon Boot Camp! Designed for Intermediate and Advanced players. Led by NM Wayne Gradle and his cutting-edge analysis. He has published opening analysis in several magazines.

We do meet tonight but unfortunately we have to cancel our kids area and close it two weeks early.

Due to a significant injury to our Scholastic Director's knee which has left him in considerable pain, needing surgery, and completely immobilized we are closing our kids area for the summer. This was coming soon anyways but due to this we decided to close two weeks early. LOOK FOR SUMMER EVENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Out USCF-rated chess is still open and our casual play 12+ is available to the community.

Doors open at 6:15 and we close at 9:00pm. Thank you!

We are excited to be into the month of May as the weather warms up. But, at the same time, it is disappointing due to our kids club wrapping up for the summer on May 19th. That means if you want to enjoy kids club please make it for the next few weeks!

As usual we kick off the month with Hershey Challenge tonight! It is the LAST ONE until September so make sure you attend. Check out the night’s details below:

Tonight’s Meeting

• Casual Play: 12+ 6:30-9:00pm

• GRCC Kids: Hershey Challenge! 5-12, 6:30-8:00pm. $5 for the Hershey Challenge and everyone gets some candy but the winners get big Hershey bars!

• USCF-Rated: Spring Swiss Round 1! G/45;d10 for four rounds kicks off this week.

Next week we will have our workshop for $5 from 7:15-7:45. The 3rd week of the month will be our $5 monthly Scholastic tournament.

Looking forward to a good May!

Join us tonight for our last meeting in April. Check out what is happening below.

• April 21st

• Casual Play: 6:30-9:00 Open to 12+

• GRCC Kids: 6:30-8:00pm Regular Meeting Ages 5-12

• GRCC Growth Academy: Workshop 7:15-7:45 - $5

• USCF-Rated Chess: Club Championship Round 5 (Final Round!)

• Current pairings here — subject to change until 6:55pm.

Upcoming Event

Sparta Junior Chess Challenge - 5/2

Join us for a great tournament hosted in Sparta, Michigan just north of Grand Rapids!

Details here!

Tonight

Casual Play: 12+ Members play from 6:30-9:00pm. (NOTE: Children who wait for parents after the kids’ time is done must be 12+ to participate in the casual play area and will be asked to sit on the benches awaiting their parents.)

GRCC Kids: 5-12 6:30-8:00pm. A regular meeting for our kids!

USCF-Rated Scholastic: Monthly Scholastic Quads Tonight! 3-Rounds, G/10;d2 USCF-rated chess. Played from 7:00-8:00pm. Must have a USCF membership and an active GRCC membership. $5 entry fee.

USCF-Rated: Round 4 of 5 of our Club Championship! 7:00-9:00pm G/55;d5.

Monthly Offerings

2nd Week USCF-Rated Scholastic Quads

Players 5-16 can compete in our USCF-rated 3-round tournament for $5. This is a great way for our younger players to get USCF quick-rated chess games.

3rd Week Chess Workshops

After a couple of months off, we will be offering our $5 GRCC Workshops again in April. Topical chess classes that are interactive and in a small group format. This makes for rich learning. April 21st will be the next offering!

Coaching and Training Plans

Looking for personalized coaching! We have a coaching team that can work with you with great experience. President Michael Brooks leads our coaching staff and brings with him a background and expertise in education. This shapes his coaching and training — making the investment well worth your time and money. Reach out at grandrapidschesscenter@gmail.com to get the details.

If you are looking for a consultation on how to work effectively independently, we also offer that. Check it out here: Coaching & Training Plans – Grand Rapids Chess Center

We kick off April with another great night of chess ahead. Despite Spring Break for many school districts, we will offer our GRCC Kids area — including our monthly Hershey Challenge!

• Casual Play: 12+ 6:30-9:00pm

• GRCC Kids: 5-12 6:30-8:00pm Hershey Challenge!

• USCF-Rated: GRCC Club Championship - Round 3!
  Special Regulations:
  No more entries after round 2.
  No-show without notice will receive removal from the event.

Remember — our monthly K-12 Scholastic Quads return this month pm the 14th. $5 for three rated games.

Doors open at 6:15pm!

Tonight we meet again! Spring is upon us, and our hope is that you can enjoy more chess in better weather.

We have some important information to share so please read below.

Tonight doors open at 6:15pm! Don Brooks, our Scholastic Chess Director, is unavailable due to a sudden family responsibility. He has a new granddaughter (I have a new niece!) being born this afternoon, which takes him away from the chess center. Due to that, we will need parents to help support the time from 6:30-7:00pm before I (Michael) am able to get down there and run the April Fools Fun! Thank you for your investment and participation in our community.

Casual Play - 12+ members enjoy time in our casual space playing chess in an open environment. 6:30-9:00pm

GRCC Kids - 5-12 enjoy a special April Fools meeting! 6:30-8:00pm (cleanup begins at 745)

USCF-Rated Chess - Club Championship Round 2! Players compete in round two of the event. Pairings will be physically posted by 6:50 with the round beginning between 6:50 and 7:00pm. Pairings can be found here!

IMPORTANT CANCELATION - SATURDAY SWISS #3 Postponed

For our Saturday Swiss #3, we have had significant scheduling challenges. On the 28th, it was originally scheduled, but was told about an event not listed on the calendar that had us move the date to the 4th. After cementing the date and communicating with the event location, the location then had a scheduling conflict they were not clear about. Because of this we were not able to host the event on the 4th.

So we are taking a breath and will secure an upcoming tournament date soon. Please be patient with us as we do this.

Thank you.

Tonight’s Meeting:

• Casual Play 12+: 6:30-9:00PM!

• USCF-Rated Play: GRCC Club Championship Round 1

  • Five Rounds

  • 1 bye in the event (1/2)

  • No-show, no-notice leads to chance of withdrawal

  • $10 Cost with 50% going to the champion

  • U1200 Reserve Section IF enough players to qualify for a section

  • Pairings will be posted at 6:55 — if later than 7:00 w/o communication you will not be paired.

  • Text Michael: 616-334-0220 to communicate the day of if you will be late.

• Kids Club 5-12: 6:30-8:00! Regular Meeting.

Upcoming Weekly Events

1st Week of April - Hershey Challenge!

3rd Week of April - K-12 Scholastic Quads ($5 - 3 Rated Games)

Upcoming GRCC Tournaments

• GRCC Saturday Swiss #4 - April 4th!

  • G/25;d5 Open Tournament or a 1700+ 3-Round Mini-Swiss at G/70. Affordable, fun chess!

• GRCC Sparta Junior Chess Challenge - May 2nd

  • A half-day scholastic event held in Sparta, Michigan! A fun event for K-12 students.

Other News!

A class offered by a local expert and Michigan Women’s Champion is being offered coming up. Check it out below!

Tonight we meet and hopefully avoid any bad weather. We are excited to kick off our monthly scholastic quads this week. K-12 students can play three rated games for just $5. Our rapid event continues along with casual play and our kids’ area.

Casual Play: Open 6:30-9:00pm 12+
GRCC Kids: Regular Meeting 6:30-8:00pm
USCF-Rated Play: G/20;d5 Rounds 3-4
USCF-Rated Play: Scholastic Quads! G/10;d3 3 Rounds. $5 to play.

Upcoming Events

Saturday Swiss #3 - April 4th!

Sparta Junior Chess Challenge - May 2nd!

We are back this week with a big return in March! Check out the details below.

Tonight’s Meeting:

• Casual Play: Open 6:30-9:00pm 12+

• GRCC Kids: Hershey Challenge! 6:30-8:00pm $5 per player!

• USCF-Rated Chess: G/20;d5 Rapid Round 1-2

The first week of the month is always a big one due to our Hershey Challenge. Hope to see you return.

Upcoming Events

• Scholastic Quads - 3/10 (NEXT WEEK!)

  • For students looking to get rated chess in we will have 3-round mini-tournaments for K-12 players. For just $5 we will organize a tournament just for them. It will be played G/10;d3 (10-minutes per side, and a 3-second delay before the clock starts). The players will play three games. This is USCF Quick-Rated!

• Saturday Swiss #3 - 3/28

  • Our latest edition of our Saturday Swiss event had a great turnout with 26 players. We will be hosting an identical event in March! An open section that will play five games at G/25;d5 time control. A great event for newer players or ones looking for a value in getting five games in one day. We then will offer a mini-swiss for 1700+ players to play a bit longer time controls. G/70;d5 time control. Find out more and register here!

• Sparta Junior Chess Challenge - 5/2

  • We are hosting a scholastic chess tournament at the Sparta Township Library on May 2nd. This is open to all K-12 players with no USCF-memberhsip required. Details can be found here!

• GRCC 2026 Club Championship

  • This event is coming up toward the end of March and will go across five weeks. This event does cost $10 and is for members only. More details coming soon!