THESE are the times that try men’s souls.

Yet the contest is decided, and the crown of “Columbia” is ours—not by force of arms nor brilliance of combination, but by the simple, stubborn arithmetic of liberty. Member by member, soul by soul, the Columbia Chess Club has outgrown its British namesake. Where once a distant province laid claim to our name, the people have spoken: the true Columbia now stands tallest on Chess.com.

As in 1776 thirteen colonies declared that no king, no parliament, no far-off power could claim what free men had built for themselves, so now the plain name Columbia—unburdened by prefix or crown—belongs to those who chose it freely and filled it with the greatest number.