A free, welcoming space for all ages to play and enjoy chess.
We now meet every Wednesday 6:00 PM–8:30 PM at 427 W Main St, Durham, NC 27701 (Bull McCabe's Irish Pub, indoor patio seating). It is free, and all are welcome!
We offer both casual and tournament play. Children and adult beginners highly encouraged to come. Free stickers available, come get one! Chess sets and clocks are supplied, but we encourage players to bring their own if possible. Just stop by and play!
Mark your calendars - Sunday December 7th, 2025 is set for 🎄 The Jingle Bell Rook Rapid Chess Tournament! To register send an email to durhamcountychessclub@gmail.com
Please include your name and the section you would like to play in. We are a not-for-profit organization and run with the help of donations. If you would like to donate to the club, please send donations directly to Venmo: @loganjamesr (Please include "Durham Chess Club" in the memo.)
Format: The tournament will be a 5 round swiss tournament. The first two rounds will be 5 minute + 10 second increment, then the final three rounds will be 15 minute + 10 second increment Rapid.
Rules: The tournament will be unrated, but we will be enforcing most USCF rules such as no electronics, no talking during games, and touch-move. Keeping notation is not required.
Our most recent tournament was covered in the 9th Street Journal — read about it here.
Stay informed about events, tournaments, and club updates. Join our email list by sending an email to: durhamcountychessclub@gmail.com
For questions or to get involved, contact Logan, Club Organizer and Tournament Director, at durhamcountychessclub@gmail.com
Durham Chess Club is 100% volunteer-run. Every dollar donated goes directly back into the club: tournament prizes, tournament costs, boards, clocks, books, and making sure chess stays free and accessible for everyone in our community.
You can support the club via Venmo, or cash:
We’re grateful for any amount — it truly helps grow the local chess community. Note: If we use a business Venmo account, then Venmo takes a 2% fee. Using personal Venmo helps us utilize 100% of your donation.
Thank you to the generous individuals who have supported the club.
Bruce Ballard
Cliff Robbins
Sandie H.
Dave Smith
Anonymous
Anonymous
Durham Chess Club is a volunteer-run organization dedicated to building a fun, inclusive chess community in the Triangle area. We welcome players of all levels, from beginners to seasoned tournament players.
Our mission is to promote chess in Durham! We host weekly casual meetups, and tournaments. Whether you want to learn the game or compete, you'll find a place here.
Founded in 2025 by local chess coach Logan James, the club continues to grow with the support of local players and volunteers. We’re always looking for new members — come join us!
We recently received a big donation of chess books from Greg, who generously donated the books that recently belonged to his neighbor - the late Dave Smith. We are grateful for both, and thought the best use of the books would be to establish a small free chess library.
These books can be checked out by simply emailing us at durhamcountychessclub@gmail.com . Just name the title you want to read, and come pick it up at the next club meeting. It's free - and return it whenever you like.
We also have roughly 55 older books written in the classic “older style” chess notation (descriptive notation). These can be checked out as well — same process: email us at durhamcountychessclub@gmail.com, tell us which title you want, and pick it up at the next club meeting.
This tournament was covered in the 9th Street Journal — read about it here.
Durham Main Library • Nov 2, 2025 • G/15 + 10 • 5 rounds
Tournament 1st place finishers - Open Section: Dave Defazio, U13 Section: Sage Uskowi
Black to move and win. What move wins for black?
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