CFCC 2024 CHESS FAQ
Central Florida Chess Club (CFCC) - Founded in 1987 as a non-profit organization with the mission of combining the original Orlando Chess Club and the Winter Park Chess Club together to better support and promote competitive chess in the Central Florida area. With over three decades as a USCF affiliate, the club has organized and hosted over 400 competitive chess tournaments to date, including the storied history of its current 34 Club Championship winners.
In addition to weekend chess tournaments, the club experimented with weekly chess club meetings in the past until its regular meeting location in Winter Park, Florida was damaged and condemned in the aftermath of hurricane Charley (August, 2004) that left a destructive path throughout the Orlando area.
Since then the club’s elected all-volunteer Board of Directors has focused solely on organizing and hosting 2-day/3-day weekend and 1-day USCF rated tournament events and does not offer casual or weekly chess club meet-ups.
Local chess club meetups
Clermont Chess Club (CCC)
Established in Clermont, FL., in cooperation with the Clermont Parks & Recreation department, the Clermont Chess Club is an active casual chess club that offers chess player meet-ups on Thursday nights from 6:00pm-10:00pm at The Kehlor Building in downtown Clermont. Chess players of all ages and skill levels are welcome to participate.
See their Facebook page for all the details!
Valencia College Chess Club
The Valencia College (Winter Park Campus) Chess Club has an active chess club that meets regularly on Thursday’s in room# 226 at the Valencia College Winter Park campus from 4:00pm-8:30pm. Chess players of all ages and skill levels are welcome to participate. See their info page for all the details!
Orlando Chess Association - West Osceola Library
We meet on Wednesdays at the West Osceola Library from 5:30pm-8:30pm and welcome chess players of all ages and skill levels. There’s free play for the first couple of hours and we typically do some puzzle study during the second hour. There is a free blitz tournament during our last hour. In addition, we maintain a club rating for everyone who participates in our tournaments. You can follow the Orlando Chess Association on Facebook and Instagram.
How can I find out about chess events happening in Central Florida?
You can either use our chess calendar that posts local chess events in both a desktop and mobile-friendly calendar format, or you can subscribe to our monthly chess event newsletter to get all the details right to your inbox.
I’m looking for a scholastic chess coach for my kids, who would you recommend?
Steven Vigil, CFCC’s long-time chief tournament director, teaches after school chess club at both public & private schools in both the Merritt Island and Orlando area. He currently offers in-person and/or online lessons to aspiring chess players of all ages and skill levels. Steven’s website has all the details about his chess coaching, tournament events, and summer chess camps!
I’m looking for a chess coach who can help me get to the next level, what resources do you have?
Check out our coaching resources for several recommendations to proven local area over-the-board chess coaches.
When playing in chess tournaments, what do I need to bring with me?
All players are expected to bring their own chess set & clock along with game notation materials when participating in chess tournaments. All competitive chess tournament players are required by the United States Chess Federation (USCF) to notate all the moves in their games (to the best of their ability) in case there are any player issues or game disputes the tournament director may need to resolve. Easy to carry vinyl chess sets are the most popular for tournament players as they are lightweight, inexpensive, and readily available online from the United States Chess Federation (USCF Sales) where all sales help support their non-profit efforts in officially organizing and promoting competitive chess in the United States.