Scholastic chess wouldn't exist if not for the sacrifice of the legion of chess parents schlepping their beloveds to tournaments.

With an exciting chess event calendar this coming year I wanted to see what could be done to lighten the burden just a little bit.

Instead of paying $17, $22 or $26 for a scholastic, youth or young adult US Chess Regular membership, effective October 3 (2016) I am making available on a first-come, first-served basis a full year USCF membership for only $11. Regular membership does not come with the Chess Life For Kids magazine -- but some copies of the bi-monthly publication will be available at select events.

These memberships are good for one year from the date of redemption -- or more accurately the end of that month. 

They can apply to renewal, expired or new member accounts, but the renewals are only valid within a couple weeks of expiration.

If you are a chess coach or tournament organizer wanting to sign up a whole bunch of kids, I'd love to hear from you.  A single check would be most convenient and I'll be glad to provide more details if you contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Paypal is an option as well, but I do ask that you include a convenience fee on top of the payment. That would be a whopping 65 cents for a single membership... but gets a tad more complicated if there are multiple siblings or teammates.

To process a membership I will need: name, date of birth, mailing address (and city, state, zip), email address, gender and expected year of high school graduation (that's what the USCF asks for, don't blame me!). Please certify that it's a new account -- that the person has NEVER had a USCF ID.

If it's a renewal, I also need the established USCF ID.  

This is the beauty of the US Chess system, the creation of a database where all the tournament results for a given individual are grouped together and placed in one convenient place on the internet for posterity to consider where their great-great grandmother was playing chess on a certain day 60 years before and how many games they won against whom!  How cool is that?

So hit me back with any questions and I'll try to get back to you ASAP. Please include USCF BULK MEMBERSHIP in the subject header so I know exactly what we're dealing with here.

This is not an ICA offering -- it's just one person trying to do something for our community -- so if something goes awry, I am the responsible person, don't hold the ICA accountable!  Again, my contact address for this offer is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For those seeking to take advantage of two-year discounts or the Premium membership which comes with a magazine those are available for $25, $30 or $35 at https://secure2.uschess.org/webstore/member.php. For some youngsters, this may be their very first official magazine subscription so it can be worth the extra shekels. Regular memberships receive access through the US Chess website and can download a PDF of each magazine current and past... and they really do have some good content portrayed attractively to juniors. 

Of particular interest is the new Rook-E character unveiled this summer -- check him out!