Chess Coaches in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania State Chess Federation was founded in 1939 in Pittsburgh and became an original state affiliate of the U.S. Chess Federation the same year; in 1943 the PSCF state championship became the first USCF championship event run with Swiss-system pairings. Pittsburgh's chess tradition centers on the Pittsburgh Chess Club, the oldest continuously operating chess club in the country, with roots in the city's Carnegie steel-industry recreation clubs and a library that ranks as the second largest chess collection in the Western Hemisphere. Philadelphia's scene is anchored by school chess, including the Paul Robeson Chess Club, and by the National Chess Congress, a major Continental Chess Association open held at a Center City hotel every Thanksgiving weekend. Pittsburgh is also home to grandmaster Alexander Shabalov, a four-time U.S. Chess Champion who has lived and taught chess in the city since the 1990s.

• The Pennsylvania State Chess Federation (founded 1939 in Pittsburgh) runs the state championship, which rotates each year between the eastern, central, and western regions.
• The Pittsburgh Chess Club, the oldest continuously operating chess club in the United States, holds regular tournaments and keeps the second-largest chess library in the Western Hemisphere.
• The National Chess Congress fills a Philadelphia hotel every Thanksgiving weekend, drawing hundreds of players from across the country for one of the region's biggest annual opens.