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A dozen reasons to play your server chess here!

The Herbert W. Gustafson Memorial. Played in even-numbered years, this special event is named in honor of Herbert W. Gustafson. When Mr. Gustafson passed away in 2008, he left a bequest to CCLA to support chess events like this, a semi-class event with sections of four players with two games per opponent. All games played by server. This is a Traditional Chess event - use of chess engines not allowed. The tournament is open to all residents of the United States, with no CCLA membership requirement and no entry fee. The prize for winning a section will be a $19 credit that can be used only for CCLA membership dues or, for CCLA members, as entry fees to CCLA events. Section prize is split in the event of a tie.
Time limit: 10 moves/30 days.
Entry fee: none
Entry deadline: October 15.

Seasonal Server Series - there are four seasonal tournaments, Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer Server Series. One round. No prizes. Entrants grouped by rating. Players paired as either a 7-player single round robin, or as a 4-, 5- or 6-player double-round robin. Total number of games played is six to ten, depending on number of entrants and pairing option. Multiple entries permitted.
Time limit: 10 moves/30 days.
Entry fee $6 per section.

When members enter any CCLA event (postal and server events) they are automatically enrolled in our Grand Prix Contest. Final standings are based on results from 04/01/20 - to 03/31/21. Wins count +3 pts, draws +1 pt. Note: results from foreign team matches are not counted.

Our Grand Prix page lists Grand Prix Contest Rules and all participants to date, in GP point order.

ADVANCED CHESS
(Chess engines allowed)

We have players waiting for sections to fill! See Advanced Chess events for tournament descriptions. Caution: members with current Traditional games must complete them before switching to the Advanced Chess group!

LEARN HOW TO PLAY CHESS !

"White on the right" and "Queen on her color." Are you just learning to play chess? Use our link to FIDE's official Rules of Chess. Do you know the Arabian Mate or the X-ray attack? CCLA offers a free How to Play Chess Tutorial, indexed by topic, Glossary of chess terms, 24 Standard Tactics with live pgn demos, 25 Checkmate Patterns with live pgn demos, Mate-in-2, Mate-in-3 and Mate-in-4 Puzzles and a comprehensive study plan for many types of endgames.

Note: New players must understand the Laws of Chess, CCLA's Server Rules of Play and Postal and Email Rules of Play and be able to read and write standard algebraic chess notation before they enter tournaments. New server players are strongly advised to review our Server Faq, Adjudication FAQ and the Server Rules of Play.

FREE PGN  DOWNLOADS

•   As announced in our July-Sept issue of The Chess Correspondent, CCLA play is being reorganized into two separate groups, Traditional (no-engine) and Advanced Chess (chess engines allowed,) with each group having its own events, ratings and results lists. The "Top3" engine detection system has been implemented for Traditional chess, and playing rules for Postal & Email Chess and Server Chess have been revised. Tournaments structured for Advanced Chess, both postal and server events, will be available after January 1, 2020. No player may appear on both rating lists and no player may participate in both groups; the new system requires a clean cut-off. Players choosing to switch to Advanced Chess are urged to complete their existing games before entering an Advanced Chess section; CCLA expects an orderly transition, not chaotic mass withdrawals from current games in progress. Obviously players intending to switch when their current games are finished should not enter additional events — this will delay your transition to the other group. We will update Postal and Server events pages as soon as the CCLA Board of Directors finalizes details.