Check out the Columbia Chess Club, in South Carolina.

We were the US Chess Federation’s 2025 Large Chess Club of The Year!

We were chess.com's Club of The Month in May 2023!

Check out Brandmair's Boast for tips, triumphs, and chess insights!

I was the Chess.com Top Blogger of The Month in March 2026.

For chess improvement, I strongly recommend FM Midas Ratsma’s Chessable courses.

I was interviewed on the 2nd half of the 348th episode of the Perpetual Chess Podcast.

I'm James Brandmair, and my journey with chess started when I was ten, learning the basics from my dad. That early experience sparked a lifelong passion, leading me to start chess clubs in middle and high school and share the game with others. Though I didn’t enter the tournament scene until 2021, at 28, I quickly immersed myself in competitive play, participating in over 170 events and directing nearly 200.

In 2021, I decided to reboot the Columbia Chess Club (CCC) to bring chess back to the community after the pandemic. Since then, I’ve worked hard to create a welcoming and active chess community here in Columbia, SC. The Club has grown remarkably, breaking records with the 2022 Columbia Open as South Carolina's largest open chess event and, most recently, opening a dedicated space for players at the end of 2023. I’m proud of what we’ve built, and I’m committed to keeping chess accessible, exciting, and competitive for everyone who joins us.