BCS Alums GM Hans Niemann and GM Sam Shankland will face each other in the 2026 US Chess Championship! The US Chess and Women's Chess Championships run Oct 9th - 22nd in St. Louis, MO, with round 1 of the 11 round, round-robin tournament beginning Friday, Oct 9th, at 10 am PDT! Learn about the [...]
Come spend an evening with IM William John Donaldson. John is the former Captain of the US Men's Chess Team, a chess educator, and a prolific and excellent author, (42 books on chess legends, tactics and strategy!) including The Unknown Bobby Fischer and Bobby Fischer and His World, which was selected as the [...]
Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life FREE event! Join Chess.com co-founder IM Danny Rensch for a lecture, book signing and Q & A at The Berkeley Chess School on Tuesday, December 16th from 5 - 7 pm. His new book: Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life will be on sale for the chess [...]
GM Sam Shankland has defeated Super GM Daniil Dubov in the tiebreaks today to reach the quarter-finals of the FIDE World Cup! He won both games of the tiebreak match, the first one in brilliant fashion! Eschewing castling, Sam launched his h-pawn, then g-pawn, and later his f-pawn at Dubov’s castle! The game finished with [...]
BCS GM-in-Residence on the winning side of an upset win in the 2025 FIDE World Cup in Round 4! Former US Chess Champion, and BCS alum & Grandmaster-in-Residence Sam Shankland scored an upset win against GM Richard Rapport in the Round 4 tie-break of the 2025 FIDE World Cup! Listen to GM Daniel King's (a [...]
It’s that time again! We’re excited to invite you to the 6th Annual Richmond Chess Festival, happening Saturday, October 25th, from 10 AM to 5 PM at COBIZ Richmond. Come celebrate Chess in Richmond Month and National Chess Day with a full day of free, family-friendly fun, hosted by the West Coast Chess Alliance. Free weekend parking is available at BART and on [...]
Celebrate National Chess Day with BCS!!! Community Chess Festival Sat, Oct 11th, 11 am - 5 pm! Chess! Food! Fun! We are also seeking donations of great items and delicious cakes for our Silent Auction, Raffle, and Cake Walk. If you have an item or confection you would like to donate, please contact jennifer@berkeleychessschool.org. [...]
In Memoriam Alan Scott Glasscoe March 9th, 1943 – June 30th, 2025 Alan Glasscoe, longtime Director of the Berkeley Chess Club, former President of CalChess (1989) and a founding board member of the Berkeley Chess School, passed June 30th, 2025 in Oakland, CA, at the age of 82. Please join us for a celebration [...]
