User:Bjerauld/sandbox

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis is a 6,000-square-foot, $1 million-plus facility, regarded as one of the most opulent chess venues in the U.S. Located in the Central West End of the city, the three-floor CCSCSL contains an upstairs tournament hall that has hosted some of the world’s most notable events and players, as well as a downstairs classroom that features regular educational programming taught by grandmasters. The Club has over 900 active members, with nearly half of its membership base full-time students of all ages.

The tournament capabilities of the CCSCSL have been used for many prestigious tournaments amongst the chess elite, including the U.S. Championships and U.S. Women’s Championships for five consecutive years (2009-2013). The U.S. Junior Closed Championship has been held there for four years (2010-2013).

The CCSCSL is the only chess club in the United States to feature a Grandmaster-in-Residence, who provides weekly lectures, lessons and camps for the community. Such notable grandmasters who have held the position include Yasser Seirawan, Ben Finegold and Varuzhan Akobian.

The success of the 2009-2010 U.S. Championships led the United States Chess Federation to name the CCSCSL as the 2010 Chess Club of the Year. The USCF also recognized CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich as Organizer of the Year for both years.