providing CPS students the opportunity to learn, play, & compete in chess
CPS Academic Chess is excited to have arranged for students to participate in this year’s Illinois ChessKid Qualifier! The Illinois ChessKid Qualifier for the National ChessKid Championship will take place on Veterans Day, November 11th at 12pm CT. The event will take place online through the ChessKid platform.
Join us for our Fall Online Tournament open to students in grades K-12 with 4 sections: Primary K-4, Intermediate K-6, Junior High K-8, & High School 9-12. Join tournament opens at 9:30 am and Round 1 starts at 10:00 am.
To participate in the tournament students must have their ChessKid account associated with our Enterprise Account 3 days prior to the tournament.
Are YOU a female-identifying high school student knowledgeable about chess? Are YOU interested in getting paid? Join our team of female high school Ambassadors to lead introductory chess lessons and/or weekly Chess Queens Club meetings and meet other like-minded girls from across Chicago! You will develop leadership skills, serve as a role model to younger girls, have the opportunity to serve on the Leadership Council, serve as a summer camp leader, or assist at tournaments. High school Ambassadors will receive a stipend for the work they do.
The Chicago Public Schools, Renaissance Knights Chess Foundation, in collaboration with Queens United Chess, developed the CPS Chess Queens Initiative. For more information see our Chess Queens webpage and complete the application to get involved!
Thank you to all you that attended the September 29th CPS Chess Parents Seminar. For those of you that could not make it, you can view the recording here .
Join us for a Professional Development for Academic Chess and Cops & Kids chess coaches on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, from 4:30 – 6:30 PM.
To confirm your attendance at the Professional Development Training, please complete your registration no later than October 3, 2021. If you have multiple coaches attending the training, please make sure each one registers for the event.
Join us for our Season Opener (Online Tournament) open to students in grades K-12 with 4 sections: Primary K-4, Intermediate K-6, Junior High K-8, & High School 9-12. Join tournament opens at 9:30 am and Round 1 starts at 10:00 am.
To participate in the tournament students must have their ChessKid account associated with our Enterprise Account 3 days prior to the tournament.
Join us for a virtual seminar that will cover the basics of using the ChessKid.com platform in your chess club on Thursday October 14, 2021 from 5:00 – 6:00 PM. This seminar is designed CPS chess coaches looking to learn more about using ChessKid.
To confirm your attendance at this seminar, please complete your registration no later than October 13, 2021. If you have multiple people attending from the same school, please make sure each one registers for the event.
Below is the schedule for the 2021-22 CPS Academic Chess tournaments, Cops & Kids events and coaches/parent meetings. For the 2021-2022 season we will be utilizing both in-person and online tournaments as well as conducting our seminars and meetings virtually.
We will be adding additional events to this schedule throughout the season.
| Event | Date/Day | Time | Location |
| Parent Seminar* | Sep 29 (Wed) | 5:00 – 6:30 PM | Online |
| Coaches Meeting* | Oct 5 (Tue) | 4:30 – 6:30 PM | Online |
| Season Opener Tourney* | Oct 11 (Mon no scl day) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| Parent Seminar* | Oct 18 (Mon) | 5:00 – 6:30 PM | Online |
| Oct All Stars | Oct 23 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | CVCA |
| Nov Tourney* | Nov 5 (Fri no scl day) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| Cops & Kids Blitz | Nov 13 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| JR Prep (K-8) | Nov 20 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Corliss |
| Holiday Tourney* | Dec 4 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| Cops & Kids Event | Dec 11 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | CPD HQ |
| Cops & Kids Blitz | Jan 8 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| MLK Day Tourney* | Jan 17 (Mon no scl day) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| H.S. Champ | Jan 22 (Sat) | 9:30 AM Start | Whitney Young |
| Kings & Queens | Jan 22 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Whitney Young |
| Greater Chicago Championship | Feb 5 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | McCormick Place |
| Presidents Day Tourney* | Feb 21 (Mon no scl day) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| Cops & Kids Blitz | Feb 26 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| Elem Playoffs | Mar 12 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Whitney Young |
| Elem Championship | Mar 26 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Dunbar |
| Spring Tourney* | Apr 2 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| USCF H.S. Nationals | Apr 8-10 (Fri-Sun) | Multi Day | Memphis, TN |
| Cops & Kids Blitz | Apr 16 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| All-Girls Nationals | Apr 22 – 24 (Fri – Sun) | Multi Day | Hyatt McCormick |
| Chess Queens Culmination | Apr 28 (Thur) | 9 AM Start | Online |
| C & K Culmination | May 2 or 3 (weekday) | TBA | Cellular Field |
| May Day Tourney* | May 7 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| USCF Elem. Nationals | May 13 – 15 | Multi Day | Columbus, OH |
| June Tourney* | Jun 11 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| Summer Spectacular Tourney* | Jul 9 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Online |
| Dog Days of Summer Tourney* | Aug 13 (Sat) | 10 AM Start | Online |
Join us for our virtual informational seminar for parents about the upcoming 2021-22 Academic Chess season on Monday, October 18, 2021 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m via Google Meet.
Join us for our fun and exciting online chess tournament for grades K-12 . Join tournament opens at 9:30 am and Round 1 starts at 10 am. The tournament features 4 sections: K-4, K-6, K-8, & HS with awards in each section.
To participate in the tournament students must have their ChessKid account associated with the CPS Enterprise Account 3 days prior to the tournament. Click here for more info.
