Running a High School Chess Club

Hi All, 

I'm helping to run a high school chess club.  So far, we have a lot of folks who are playing within the school, and they would like to play against other schools.  We have some students taking advantage of broader regional travel opportunities, but we would like to do some events that are more local, against teams in our area. 

Are there master lists of chess clubs for high schools, that we could challenge one on one, like a tennis or swim match? Or do we have to keep finding open enrollment type tournaments for our individuals?  Google has given me the result of one strong team in the area, but our students would likely be defeated and disheartened.  Any advice is appreciated. 

You didn't say what state you are from but I would start with the list of teams from the National High School championship and see what teams are from your state.

http://www.uschess.org/results/2018/hs/?page=TEAM&xsection=K12

This is just the first page:

To start I would google "[your state's name] chess association." Sometimes they'll explicitly have a scholastic section on the website. If not, I'd look for a tournament director or some kind of administrative person's contact info and e-mail or call them to ask about scholastic chess in your state.

If there isn't the kind of scholastic chess you're wanting, I'd just start calling / e-mailing schools in your area and propose organizing a chess match. You may be pleasantly surprised. In any state there are often casual clubs in schools or coffee shops that are under the radar of the state association. Just a group of enthusiasts who have organized themselves.

Hey Jennifer,

Thats awesome! I still remember playing chess in high school as well.

We once had a GM come in to play with us and talk to us about chess, but it was too short of a visit to have an impact. I found this article I though you might want to share with your group, its a really easy approach for beginners:  https://chesspony.com/chess-tips/

Good luck with your program!