Chess in the San Francisco Bay Area
18 June 2006
Good People,
I've found the following venues for both casual and organized chess in
the San Francisco Bay Area. Casual chess includes informal coffeeshop
play, and organized chess includes club and tournament play. Please send
additions, updates, and corrections to the email address below; if you
wish to be attributed, be sure to include your initials. I'd like to
keep this list current to within 3 or 4 months.
Recent changes:
2006-06-18: Added Eichler Highlands Chess Club, San Mateo, CA.
2006-06-15: Added contact email address and telephone number to Willows
Senior Center Chess Club, San Jose, CA.
2006-06-08: <SFbayarea_Chess AT yahoogroups DOT com> renamed to
<San_Francisco_Bay_Area_ Chess_Club AT yahoogroups DOT
com>.
2006-06-04: Stanford Chess Club meeting time moved back to Sunday
afternoons starting 2006-06-11.
2006-05-30: Chess and Go Players at UCSC had their last meeting of the
2005-2006 academic year and will return in the fall.
2006-05-20: Added Walnut Creek Senior Center Chess Club, Walnut Creek,
CA; and Chess and Go Players at UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA.
2006-05-19: Added Borders Books & Music, Santa Cruz, CA.
2006-05-15: Added San Mateo Senior Center Chess Club, San Mateo, CA.
2006-05-11: Added meeting times and contact person for Lakeview Chess
Club, Oakland, CA.
2006-05-09: Added American Tournament Chess Club, Pacifica, CA.
2006-05-07: Added Clocktower Coffee Roasting Company in Mountain View,
CA.
2006-05-05: Added Chess Rules! Kids Chess Club, San Jose, CA.
2006-04-24: Added Royal Ground Cafe in San Francisco, CA.
2006-04-17: Stanford Chess Club meeting time moved from Sunday
afternoons to Saturday afternoons.
Regards and thank you,
Eric De Mund <ead-ba-chess AT ixian DOT com>
South Bay
Bean Scene, Sunnyvale, CA
- daily, 11:30am-2:00pm
- casual play
- Bean Scene, 186 South Murphy Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94086
- no contact point or web site yet; Bean Scene telephone number is
(408) 738-4523
- added 2006-03 (EAD)
Chess Rules! Kids Chess Club, San Jose, CA
- Friday evenings, 6:00-10:00pm; pizza at 7:00pm, lecture at 7:30pm
- tournament, ladder, and casual play
- for kids aged pre-school through 18 years old (currently, most
are ages 6-13)
- Willows Senior Center, 2175 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125
- contact Tony Pabon at (408) 866-4815, or email <tpabon AT
earthlink DOT net> (make sure to put the word "chess" in the
Subject line)
- 40+ active members; founded July 2005
- added 2006-05 (TPabon/EAD)
Clocktower Coffee Roasting Company, Mountain View, CA
- Friday evenings, 7:00-9:30pm
- unrated tournament and casual play
- focus is on scholastic chess, but all players are cordially
welcomed
- Clocktower Coffee Roasting Company, 205 East Middlefield Road,
Mountain View, CA 94043
- contact Dr. Rene Ochoa at <reneochoa AT comcast DOT net>
- added 2006-05 (ROchoa/EAD)
Friday Night Chess, Mountain View, CA
- Friday evenings, 6:00-8:00pm
- casual play
- for beginners only; kids and interested adults
- Southbay Christian School, 1134 Miramonte Avenue, Mountain View,
CA 94040
- contact <FridayKnightChess AT yahoo DOT com>
- added 2006-04 (MJones/EAD)
Kolty Chess Club, Campbell, CA
- Thursday evenings, lecture 6:30-7:30pm, play 7:30-11:30pm
- rated tournament and casual play
- Campbell Community Center, 1 West Campbell Avenue, Campbell, CA
95008
- club web site is <http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/kolty/>
- 50+ active members
- reconfirmed 2006-06 (EAD)
Santana Row, San Jose, CA
- daily
- casual play, played at the outdoor chess tables
- median strip of Santana Row between Olin Avenue and Olsen Drive,
San Jose, CA 95128
- see map at <http://www.santanarow.com/>
- added 2006-03 (EAD)
Sun Chess Club, Campbell, CA
- Saturday evenings, 7:00-10:00pm
- rated tournament play
- Amundson Hall, Immanuel Lutheran Church, 14103 Saratoga Avenue,
Saratoga, CA 95070
- club web site is <http://sunchessclub.googlepages.com/>
- added 2006-04 (CSun/EAD)
Willows Senior Center Chess Club, San Jose, CA
- Tuesday and Friday afternoons, 12:00-4:00pm
- casual play
- Willows Senior Center, 2175 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125
- contact Jerry Marshall at <marshalljerry AT msn DOT com>
or (408) 267-1574; also, Willows Senior Center phone number is
(408) 448-6400
- reconfirmed 2006-06 (JMarshall/EAD)
Peninsula
Burlingame Chess Club, Burlingame, CA
- Thursday evenings, starting at 7:00pm
- rated tournament and casual play
- Lions Hall Building, 990 Burlingame Avenue, Burlingame, CA 94010
- club web site is <http://www.burlingamechessclub.com/>
- added 2006-03 (EAD)
Eichler Highlands Chess Club, San Mateo, CA
- Monday mornings, 10:30am-1:00pm
- casual play
- Eichler Highlands, 1851 Lexington Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94402
- contact Sidney Schieber at (650) 345-8603 or <sid-sd3 AT
sbcglobal DOT net>
- added 2006-06 (SSchieber/EAD)
Foster City Chess Club, Foster City, CA
- Saturday afternoons, 3:00-6:00pm
- casual play
- Peninsula Jewish Community Center, 800 Foster City Boulevard,
Foster City, CA 94404
- contact Yan Kudevitsky <kudevitsky AT sbcglobal DOT net>
- reconfirmed 2006-06 (YKudevitsky/EAD)
San Mateo Senior Center Chess Club, San Mateo, CA
- Wednesday afternoons, 1:00-4:00pm
- casual play
- San Mateo Senior Center, 2645 Alameda de Las Pulgas, San Mateo,
CA 94403
- no contact point or web site yet; San Mateo Senior Center
telephone number is (650) 522-7490
- added 2006-05 (EAD)
Stanford Chess Club, Stanford, CA
- Sunday afternoons, 2:00-5:00pm (commencing 2006-06-11)
- casual play
- at outside tables next to Jamba Juice at Tressider Union
- Tressider Union, 459 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA 94305
- club web site is <http://www.stanford.edu/group/chess/>
- reconfirmed 2006-06 (YYang/EAD)
Santa Cruz/Coastside
American Tournament Chess Club, Pacifica, CA
- Sunday afternoons starting at 12:30pm; Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday evenings starting at 7:00pm
- rated tournament (Thursdays) and casual play (all days)
- Sundays and Thursdays: Vista Del Mar Baptist Church, 1125 Terra
Nova Boulevard, Pacifica, CA 94044
- Tuesdays: McDonald's, 125 Monterey Road, Pacifica, CA 94044
- Wednesdays: Denny's, 500 Linda Mar Boulevard, Pacifica, CA 94044
- contact John Galpin at <johngalpin AT atcc DOT us>, or
phone (650) 355-6787
- added 2006-05 (EAD)
Borders Books & Music, Santa Cruz, CA
- Thursday evenings; registration at 6:30pm, play starts at 7:10pm
- unrated tournament play (3 round quad system, G/25, no entry
fee; bring sets, clocks, and boards)
- Borders Books & Music, 1200 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
- contact Jim Parker at <jimcheck AT pacbell DOT net> or
(831) 662-0587
- added 2006-05 (JParker/EAD)
Chess and Go Players at UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA
- Tuesday evenings during the school year, 6:00-10:00pm
(2006-05-30: Club had their last meeting of the 2005-2006
academic year; they will return in the fall)
- unrated tournament and casual play
- Bay Tree Conference Center, Third Floor, Room A, Bay Tree
Building, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
- club web site is <http://kenn.frap.net/mm/moin.cgi/Chess>;
see also <http://kenn.frap.net/mm/moin.cgi/Go/Baduk/Wei_Qi> (for e.g. club's Yahoo! group)
- added 2006-05 (KLK/EAD)
San Francisco
Cafe La Boheme, San Francisco, CA
- most evenings after 6:00pm, though Wednesday evenings are best
- casual play
- Cafe La Boheme, 3318 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
(between Valencia Street and Mission Street)
- description at
<http://calchess.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=60>
- no contact point or web site yet; Cafe La Boheme telephone
number is (415) 643-0481
- reconfirmed 2006-05 (EAD)
Mechanics' Chess Club, San Francisco, CA
- daily, 11:00am-10:30pm
- rated tournament and casual play
- 57 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94104
- club web site is <http://www.chessclub.org/>
- added 2006-03 (EAD)
Royal Ground Cafe, San Francisco, CA
- most evenings, though Chess & Scrabble is on Monday evenings
starting at 8:00pm
- casual play
- Royal Ground Cafe, 2216 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
- "Royal Ground Cafe at Polk and Vallejo (in SF) has a regular
Chess & Scrabble night on Mondays starting around 8:00pm.
Plus, impromptu chess can be found most other days, including a
less rigourously attended Friday night session."
"Also, it is important to
note that the cafe is at Polk & Vallejo as there is another
cafe with the same name nearby at Polk & Sacramento. People
often go the wrong cafe and get disappointed." --TXY
- no contact point or web site yet; Royal Ground Cafe telephone
number is (415) 474-5957
- added 2006-04 (TXY)
East Bay
East Bay Chess Club, Berkeley, CA
- daily; weekdays 3:30-11:00pm, weekends 10:00am-9:00pm
- rated tournament and casual play
- East Bay Chess Club, 1940 Virginia Street, Berkeley, CA 94709
- club web site is <http://www.eastbaychess.com/>
- added 2006-03 (EAD)
Fremont Chess Club, Fremont, CA
- Friday evenings, 7:00-11:00pm
- casual play
- Veterans' Memorial Building, 37154 2nd Street, Fremont, CA 94536
- club web site is <http://www.fremontchessclub.org/>
- added 2006-03 (EAD)
Lakeview Chess Club, Oakland, CA
- Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, 3:30-5:30pm
- casual play, with rated tournament play once or twice per year
- Lakeview Library, 550 El Embarcadero, Oakland, CA 94610
- contact Mary Farrell at <mfarrell AT oaklandlibrary DOT
org> or phone (510) 238-7344 (2006-05-11: Demetrius Goins,
the usual organizer and expert in residence, is on sabbatical
for several months)
- visit <http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/Branches/lak.html>
and <http://www.lakeviewfriends.org/>
- reconfirmed 2006-05 (MFarrell/EAD)
Walnut Creek Senior Center Chess Club, Walnut Creek, CA
- Tuesday evenings, 8:30-10:00pm
- casual play
- Walnut Creek Senior Center, 1375 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, CA
94596
- no contact point or web site yet; Walnut Creek Senior Center
telephone number is (925) 943-5851
- added 2006-03 (PMV)
Other
Benjamin Russack
- Benjamin is a gent in the East Bay who's collecting names of
chess playing folks around the Bay Area interested in in-person
though not necessarily club or tournament play. He's got some
20-24 persons on his list so far; this list is emailed to
members periodically.
- contact Benjamin Russack <benjamin_russack AT hotmail DOT com>
- added 2006-03 (BRussack/EAD)
California Chess Clubs
Casual Chess Scenes
San_Francisco_Bay_Area_Chess_Club Mailing List
The master version of this document lives at URL
<http://www.ixian.com/ead/chess/ba-chess.html>.
Please send additions and corrections to <ead-ba-chess AT ixian DOT com>.
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