Chess Coaches in Mississippi

The Mississippi Chess Association (MCA), the state's US Chess affiliate, has organized the Mississippi State Championship since at least the 1950s and became more formal in 1973 with annual dues and a regular chess publication. Club play centers on the Jackson area, home to the Jackson Chess Club and the Capital City Chess Club, which runs a year-long "Second Sunday" league across Open, U1300, and U800 sections. Scholastic chess has its own affiliate, the Mississippi Scholastic Chess Association, which runs statewide Grade Level and Team Championships. Outside the capital, the Scott County Chess Club — meeting in Forest and hosting tournaments in Morton — has built a real regional following, holding the annual Bienville Chess Classic at Roosevelt State Park. The state's best-known chess story, though, is Franklin County: teacher-turned-chess-coach Dr. Jeff Bulington built a public school program in Meadville that produced a state championship team, drawing a 2017 feature on 60 Minutes.

• The Mississippi State Championship, run annually by the Mississippi Chess Association (mcachess.org), is the marquee over-the-board event to build a season around.
• Capital City Chess Club's Second Sunday Chess League gives Jackson-area players a rated game once a month, January through December, in Open, U1300, and U800 sections.
• The Bienville Chess Classic, hosted each spring by the Scott County Chess Club at Roosevelt State Park in Morton, is a friendly regional weekend open that draws players from across the area.