Chess Tournaments in Idaho

Idaho Chess Network took over the Idaho Chess Association's tournaments and affiliate functions in May 2026. The former association was founded in 1947. Boise is the clear hub: the Boise Chess Club (revived in January 2014) holds regular meetups at All About Games on Overland Road and at Flying M Coffee Garage in Meridian, while the Chandra Alexis Chess Club has run weekly rated tournament play in the Boise area since 2008. Scholastic chess is unusually well organized for a state this size, with the Western Idaho Scholastic Chess League drawing more than 20 area schools into monthly team competition. Idaho has never produced a homegrown Grandmaster, but International Master Luke Harmon-Vellotti, a Boise native, put the state on the national school chess map as a multiple-time national youth champion.

• Check Idaho Chess Network for Idaho Open and state championship dates.
• Boise Chess Club meets weekly — Monday evenings at All About Games on Overland Road in Boise and Sunday mornings at Flying M Coffee Garage in Meridian — for casual and rated play outside tournament weekends.
• Young players have real ladders to climb here: the Western Idaho Scholastic Chess League runs monthly team events for 20+ area schools, feeding into the annual Idaho Scholastic State Chess Championship.