Chess Clubs in Connecticut

The Connecticut State Chess Association (CSCA), based in West Hartford, is the official US Chess state affiliate and runs the year's marquee events: the Connecticut Open, the Connecticut Classic, the Connecticut Speed (blitz) Championship, and the Connecticut Scholastic Championships. The state's club tradition goes back to the early 1900s, when chess groups in Waterbury, Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport began organizing inter-club matches. The New Britain Chess Club, founded in 1901 by CT State Champion John Kirkham, grew into the state's largest and most historic club and still runs the New Britain Summer Open, a tradition dating to 1966. New Haven has its own long-running scene through the New Haven Chess Club, and Fairfield County is served by the Chess Club of Fairfield County in Norwalk. Yale University adds real depth at the top: its student chess club traces back to 1885 (Yale fielded the first American college chess club in 1857), and GM Nicolas Checa — a Yale graduate and multi-time Connecticut State Champion — was inducted into the Connecticut Chess Hall of Fame in 2025.

• Play weekly at the New Britain Chess Club, Connecticut's oldest and largest club, which meets Tuesdays at the Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection in New Britain.
• Enter the Connecticut Open, the CSCA's flagship annual state-championship tournament, with sections for every rating level.
• Check the New Britain Summer Open (running since 1966) and the CSCA's Connecticut Speed Championship for blitz players looking for a strong local field.