CHESS SEASON IS HERE!

WELCOME BACK!

The fall weather means back to school and back to football.

But it also means BACK TO CHESS!

We hope all our young chess players had a great summer and are ready for a terrific fall!

SENECA has our usual great lineup of tournaments for the fall (listed below) plus some other great events from our fellow chess associations.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

SENECA is also pleased to announce that we will be running the elementary school RI Scholastic Chess League this year. That's right. There will only be one RI league this year. In cooperation with the Ocean State Chess Assn, we have agreed to run the elementary division of the league and OSCA will run the middle and high school sections. This is something that parents have been asking for since OSCA came on the scene with their own league so we are happy we were able to work it out.

After all, Rhode Island is a pretty small state so more than one scholastic league did seem like a lot!

SENECA will also continue to run multiple chess tournaments this season in Rhode Island and local Massachusetts.



REMEMBER!!

You MUST sign up for all SENECA tournaments in advance. Our online systems usually will shut down 24 hours before a tournament (or when the venue is sold out) so do not wait. Also, you MUST check in at the tournament site by 9:20am. Failure to do so may result in you NOT playing in round one. We had many late arrivals to tournaments last season so we will likely have to enforce this one more stringently this year.

FIRST UP...

REGISTER HERE!

Other information...

Scholastic League:

Our scholastic league is starting to sign up schools now.

Remember that SENECA is running the elementary division ONLY this year.

If you are a middle school or high school and want to participate in the scholastic league, please contact the OCEAN STATE CHESS ASSN.

If you are starting a new elementary team at your school, SENECA will provide you with chess sets and help you get things going. For more information on the elementary division of the league, contact Jonathan Clark jondavidclark@gmail.com

Scholastic Learning:

Both the OCYL (Office of Children Youth and Learning) in Cumberland RI and RICS (Rhode Island Chess School) in North Kingstown and Cranston RI will be running their respective chess programs this fall. Click below for more information:

OCYL

RICS

Scholastic Tournaments:

Our upcoming Scholastic Tournaments are listed below.

And if that is not enough, there will also be other chess playing opportunities this fall through other regional chess affiliates including the RI CHESS SCHOOL, the MASSACHUSETTS CHESS ASSOCIATION, and the OCEAN STATE CHESS ASSOCIATION.

Our goal at SENECA is to give kids the opportunity to play and to make chess fun!

NOTE: we have kept in place the changes we made last year for regular SENECA tournaments:

• Check-time for all of our events is now 9AM-9:20AM
• The first round of play begins at 9:30AM
• Our top scholastic section will usually be U1400 instead of OPEN
• Also there has been no increase in tournament fees for this season

Upcoming Southeast New England Chess Assn Scholastic Events:

September 2026

4th Annual Tomorrow Fund Charity Chess Tournament

(OSCA event)

September 26                                                 

The fall chess season kicks off with an ALL AGES event for the TOMORROW FUND held at Bryant University. Great way to start the season by giving to a deserving cause! FOR MORE INFORMATION

(NOTE: this is not a SENECA event but may be of interest to our audience)

October 2026

12th Max Malyuta Memorial Tournament

(OSCA event)

October 10 (NATIONAL CHESS DAY!)                                          

National Chess Day is combining with the Max Malyuta Memorial Tournament this year with proceeds going to help school chess clubs. This is another ALL AGES tournament. FOR MORE INFORMATION

(NOTE: this is not a SENECA event but may be of interest to our audience)

5th Annual Columbus Day Tournament

(RICS event)

October 12                                       

National Chess Day weekend continues with the 5th Annual Columbus Day Tournament hosted by the RI CHESS SCHOOL. This is a scholastic tournament open to all players who are in grades K-12. FOR MORE INFORMATION

(NOTE: this is not a SENECA event but may be of interest to our audience)

SENECA begins their fall season on October 24th:

October 2026

10th Cumberland Fall Chess Fest

October 24 @ 9am (check in)- 1pm

Blackstone Valley Prep 291 Broad Street, Cumberland, RI,

A 4 round scholastic chess event for players in grades K-12.

Three sections: UNDER 1400, U700, UNRATED (U1400 and U700 require USCF membership).

November 2026

4th Bellingham MA Fall Chess Scholastic

November 7 @ 9am (check in)- 1pm

Bellingham High School, 60 Blackstone Street, Bellingham, MA

A 4 round scholastic chess event for players in grades K-12.

Three sections: UNDER 1400, U700, UNRATED (U1400 and U700 require USCF membership).

13th Sharon Scholastic Chess Tournament

November 22 @ 9am (check in)- 1pm

Striar Hebrew Academy, 100 Ames St, Sharon, MA

A 4 round scholastic chess event for players in grades K-12.

Three sections: UNDER 1400, U700, UNRATED (U1400 and U700 require USCF membership).

December 2026

6th Portsmouth Scholastic Chess Tournament

December 5 @ 9am (check in)- 1pm

Portsmouth Middle School 125 Jepson Lane, Portsmouth, RI

A 4 round scholastic chess event for players in grades K-12.

Three sections: UNDER 1400, U700, UNRATED (U1400 and U700 require USCF membership).