2026 Fall Chess Program Guide

Dear Chess Families & Friends,

Today we wrap up a full ten weeks of what has been a record-breaking summer of chess across all five of our camp locations! Our players had a ton of fun, but they really worked hard as well, resulting in many significant rating gains. Our campers were immersed in a rich daily chess training environment which included skill specific lessons along with two USCF rated games which included post-mortem game review from our team of dedicated coaches. One of the many highlights included visits from such luminaries as GM Liam Putnam, WGM Iris Mou, and GM Brewington Hardaway. We trust all of our collective hard work this summer, will result in plenty of success this upcoming season.

With that being said, it is time once again for the opening of a new school year, this one our 11th year of after-school Chess Club & Team programming, and there is a full roster of tried and true teams alongside new programs, including our newly expanded middle school programs.

Please find your club in our complete Fall Program Schedule below, as well as all our tournament and camp events for the fall! We are making some significant changes, and additions: we will now be running all our Team Tournaments on Saturdays, giving back Sundays to families.

We will also be running a league this year that will track the performance and development of our teams as they work to prepare for all our Championship events. I will be sending a comprehensive email soon detailing the new training schedule, with all camps, Grand Prixs, and Team Tournament dates. For now, see the links and schedule below.

Last but not least, I am proud to announce that ICN is now an Official Sponsor of the USA Chess Olympiad team. Our men's & women's teams will be traveling to Samarkand, Uzbekistan to compete with the world's best, with good chances to take a gold medal. As we strive to support the highest levels of chess across the country, there is no greater honor than helping to elevate the very best. Our kids will be tracking their progress during the first weeks of club, coming soon. Don't miss it!

Our own GM Alex Lenderman is seen above from when he coached the 2016 team to Gold. This year's men's team features Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Hans Niemann, Levon Aronian, and Awonder Liang. The women's team features Carissa Yip, Alice Lee, Irina Krush, Rose Atwell, and Tatev Abrahamyan.

Fall Program Schedule:

  • School based Chess Club & Team sessions will start directly after-school. Chess Club & Team pickup will be at 5:00 pm with a 6:00 pm late-pickup option at most programs.

  • All programs will follow the NYC school calendar.

  • School based programs are open to only students attending those schools.

  • Saturday Grand Prix start at 9:00 am

  • Monthly Team tournaments start at 9:00 am

Mondays:

Tuesdays:

Wednesdays:

Thursdays:

Fridays:

Russ Makofsky