Portland Chess Club (PCC)
Runs a number of monthly and annual tournaments and more. The PCC often co-sponsors and helps run the Oregon Open. Most of the current two day annual PCC tournaments are qualifiers for the Challengers section of the Oregon Closed. All of the current OCF tournaments except the Oregon Open (since it’s too big) have been held at the PCC facility. Two of the current OCF board members are also on the PCC board.
Puddletown Chess
Puddletown Chess is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that runs regular training classes, monthly chess tournaments and regular (FREE) educational webinars for scholastic chess players in Oregon. Puddletown Chess tournaments are popular among scholastic players for 4 reasons: (1) FREE game analysis with the founders who are rated USCF 1950 to 2250 (2) FREE pizza for players (3) Convenient west side location and (4) Beautiful 11″ trophies for winners in each quad.
Chess4Girls PDX
To empower, encourage, and create a much-needed, nurturing space for aspiring young girls in chess
Portland Chess Association (PCA)
Currently hosts casual chess
Director Park in Portland
Hosts casual chess. Has a giant chess set.
Vancouver Chess Club
Hosts casual chess
Firstenburg Community Center Chess Club in Vancouver
Hosts casual chess for players age 50+
Oregon City/West Linn Chess Club
Currently hosts casual chess. The first four editions of the Oregon Senior Open were held at the Oregon City/West Linn chess club from 2011-2014.
Gaston Chess Club
Hosts casual chess
Corvallis Chess Club
We meet at the Old World Deli, 341 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR. We meet Tuesdays starting April 19, 2022, starting about 6pm until we get tired or they close at 10pm. Contact Phil Schapker [email protected] for more information.
Emerald City Chess Club
The chess club at the University of Oregon. Hosts casual chess and occasional tournaments, both of which are open to the public.
Central Oregon/Bend Chess Club
Hosts casual chess and occasional tournaments
Coos Bay Area Chess Club
Hosts casual chess and occasional tournaments
Coquille Chess Club
Hosts casual chess and occasional tournaments
Medford Chess Club
Hosts casual chess and occasional tournaments
Ashland Chess Club
Hosts casual chess
Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation (OSCF)
Runs the annual OSCF State Championship in Seaside, OSCF K-12 School Team Championship, OSCF All-Stars Invitational in Salem, and promotes scholastic chess of all levels. See the OSCF website for many local scholastic clubs/organizations. Most tournaments in Oregon, including the eligible OCF events, are qualifiers for the OSCF State Championship, the premier scholastic tournament in the state which crowns the High School (9-12), Middle School 6-8), Elementary School (3-5), and Primary School (K-2) state champions and is usually the Oregon qualifier for the Denker National Tournament of High School (9-12) State Champions, Barber National Tournament of Middle School (6-8) State Champions, and Rockefeller National Tournament of Elementary School (K-5) State Champions. The tournament is now usually the largest tournament in Oregon each year.
Oregon High School Chess Team Association (OHSCTA)
Runs the annual OHSCTA State Team Championship, which rotates among different areas of the state, for high school and middle school players
Washington Chess Federation (WCF)
The US Chess and Northwest Chess state affiliate for Washington. Most of the tournaments the WCF sanctions are usually in the greater Seattle area but in the greater Portland area they run the annual Vancouver Open. They also run the Clark Harmon Memorial Open, which rotates between Oregon and Washington, every other year.
Washington State Elementary Chess Championship (WSECC)
Oversees the annual Washington State Elementary Chess Championship, usually the largest tournament in the Northwest each year by a large margin. The tournament rotates between different regions of the state. The Washington Middle School Championship is now usually run alongside the Elementary Championship.
Washington High School Chess Association (WHSCA)
Runs the annual Washington High School State Team Championship and Mini-Teams Championship, usually in the greater Seattle area. Along with the WCF, they give monetary support to the Washington representative of the Denker Tournament of High School Champions to attend that tournament.
Northwest Chess
Publishes the monthly Northwest Chess magazine (in print and online), the official publication of the Oregon Chess Federation, Washington Chess Federation, and Idaho Chess Association.
US Chess Federation (US Chess-formerly known as USCF)
The official national chess organization in the United States. Among other things, US Chess administers the national rating system, awards national titles, publishes the Chess Life (monthly) and Chess Life Kids (bi-monthly) magazines (in print and online), sanctions over twenty national championships annually, publishes a rulebook, and represents the US in FIDE. The OCF helped bring the 1987 US Open to Portland. The 2002 National Elementary Championship was held in Portland and the 2012 US Open was held in Vancouver. The Players & Ratings section of the US Chess website allows you to see, among other things, a players US Chess ratings, titles, rankings, and tournament history. It also allows you to estimate your new rating after a tournament. All OCF tournaments are currently US Chess rated.
Continental Chess Association (CCA)
Runs tournaments throughout the US, most of which are big tournaments with substantial cash prize funds. In addition, some of the tournaments give players the possibility of earning IM and GM norms. Tournaments CCA runs include the annual World Open, North American Open, Chicago Open, and Philadelphia Open.
World Chess Federation (FIDE)
The official international chess organization. FIDE (French acronym for World Chess Federation; the organization was founded in France) sanctions, runs, or sponsors the various world championships (overall, rapid, blitz, olympiad, team, senior, junior, youth, women, etc.). FIDE also administers the official international rating system and awards the Grandmaster (GM), International Master (IM), FIDE Master (FM), Candidate Master (CM), Woman Grandmaster (WGM), Woman International Master (WIM), Woman FIDE Master (WFM), and Woman Candidate Master (WCM) titles. A few tournaments in the Northwest are FIDE rated.
Professional Rapid Online (PRO) Chess League (formerly United States Chess League, USCL)
After eleven seasons as the USCL, the USCL became the PRO Chess League in 2017. The PRO Chess League is a team vs. team event played online. Each week during the season, each team chooses four of its players and they each play a rapid game at G/15;inc2 against each of the four players chosen from another team. Any city in the world can apply to join the PRO Chess League and you will likely be approved if you are a good fit for the league. Most of the players that play are at least a National Master and some of the best players in the world compete in it. Thousands of dollars are awarded in prizes. The Portland Chess Club created a team in Portland for the inaugural edition of the PRO Chess League in 2017 called the Portland Rain and they played their matches at the Portland Chess Club facility on chess.com. Check out the Portland Rain fan club page here.
There are numerous places to play chess online and some of the most popular sites are currently Chess.com, Chess24, ChessAnyTime, ChessCube, ChessFriends.com, ChessOK Playing Zone, FIDE Online Arena, Free Internet Chess Server (FICS), Internet Chess Club (ICC), lichess, and Playchess.