Frequently Asked Questions

1. What time do you meet?

Meeting time is Thursdays at 7:30 PM.

2. Where do you meet?

The GCC meets in room 219 of the Robert W. Leach, Sr. University Transfer Building on Greenville Tech's Barton (main) Campus. (620 South Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, SC 29607)

3. How do I find you?

Click here for directions.

4. What does it cost to join the Greenville Chess Club?

Adult Membership is $30 for 12 months.
Youth (under 20 years old) Membership is $15 for 12 months.

5. Can I play without joining?

Yes, you can play casual games without joining either the Greenville Chess Club or the USCF, but you must join the USCF to play rated games.

6. What is the USCF?

The United States Chess Federation (USCF) is the governing organization for chess in America. A not-for-profit corporation, it has more than 80,000 paid members. Its membership spans every state and territory of the United States.

There are nearly 2,000 USCF-affiliated chess clubs, and more than 100,000 chess players participate in USCF events every year. The official publication, Chess Life, is distributed nationally every month to more than 250,000 readers.

The USCF was founded in 1939 and grew gradually until 1972, when membership doubled due to interest in Bobby Fischer's rise to the World Championship. The last five years have seen the rolls swell by nearly 50 percent, spurred by the growth of scholastic chess and the spread of chess computers.

The USCF sanctions thousands of chess tournaments with a half-million rated games each year. It is the organizer of 25 national championship events including the US Championship, the US Women's Championship, and the Amateur, Junior, and Senior championships. The USCF sponsors the National Scholastic Championships which annually draw over 3,000 players.

As a not-for-profit membership organization, the USCF applies its revenue to services and programs benefitting its members and chess in America. The US Chess Trust, a charitable trust administered by the USCF, supports chess programs for schools, veterans, hospitals, and prisons worldwide.

7. What is rated chess?

Rated chess games are official games played between rated players, where the outcome of the game affects the players' ratings. In general a win increases a player's rating, and a loss decreases it.

8. What is a rating?

The USCF rating system, developed by statistician Arpad Elo in the early 1960s, rates the performance of chessplayers in sanctioned tournaments. Most ratings fall between 400 and 2600, with an average of about 1350. The highest rated player in the U.S. is currently Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, rated 2858 as of February 2012. In 1970, the World Chess Federation adopted the USCF rating method for international events.

Adult membership in USCF is $40/year.
Age 24 and under is $26/year.
Age 15 and under is $22/year.
Age 12 and under is $17/year.
Family discounts are also available.
Details can be found at the USCF webstore here.