MD Chess Governance
MD Chess's Officers, Board Members, Mission Statement, & Statement of Purpose
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Maryland Chess Association: Officers & Board Members, 2022.05.12 - currently | |
President | Christopher Y. Kim |
Vice President: Open Director | Michael W. Regan |
Vice President: Scholastic Director | John D. Rockefeller V |
Treasurer | Michael W. Regan |
Secretary | Brent H. Layer |
Member at Large | Wilbert A. Brown |
Member at Large | Sathish Nath |
Member at Large | Grishmeshwar P. Sinha |
Officers are voting board members elected to a renewable 1-year term at MD Chess's General Meeting during the Maryland Open. Members at Large are non-voting board members appointed to a renewable 1-year term by MD Chess's President. Contact MD Chess's Officers & Board Members at Tournaments@MDChess.com. |
MD Chess Mission Statement
The Maryland Chess Association is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting chess in Maryland among players of all ages and levels: kids and adults, novice to Grandmaster. We focus on improving both the quality and quantity of chess in Maryland by means of tournaments, travel stipends, club development, educational programs, and other activities.
MD Chess Mission Statement
The Maryland Chess Association is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting chess in Maryland among players of all ages and levels: kids and adults, novice to Grandmaster. We focus on improving both the quality and quantity of chess in Maryland by means of tournaments, travel stipends, club development, educational programs, and other activities.
MD Chess Statement of Purpose
MD Chess is the State Affiliate of the US Chess Federation and selects Maryland's delegates to US Chess’s annual meeting.
To give players the ability to test and improve their skills, MD Chess organizes and runs US-Chess-rated tournaments throughout Maryland—both scholastic tournaments and open tournaments (for adult and students). We maintain an online calendar of chess tournaments in Maryland (including those not run by MD Chess) and send out scholastic and open monthly e-newsletters.
Throughout the scholastic year (from mid-September until late-May) MD Chess organizes and runs up to 18 scholastic tournaments—all of which are all-day events (9:30 AM - 6 PM) and some of which are 2-day events. Our scholastic chess calendar includes all of fall and spring, because we want to emphasize to K-12 players that chess is neither seasonal, nor weather-dependent. MD Chess's scholastic tournaments serve approximately 4,000 players annually.
In addition to running local scholastic tournaments, MD Chess runs several annual scholastic tournaments that confer state and regional titles. Since 1975 the Maryland Scholastic Chess Championships has determined individual and team champions at the 4 standard scholastic levels: primary school, elementary school, middle school, and high school. Since 1995 the Maryland Sweet 16 has determined the top scholastic player in Maryland, regardless of grade. (The Maryland-Sweet-16 Champion receives a 4-year scholarship at UMBC worth $42,000+.) Since 2010 the Maryland Girls Chess Championship or Mid-Atlantic Girls Chess Championship has determined regional and state individual and team champions, including the Maryland girl champion. Since 2011 the Greater Baltimore Scholastic Chess Championships has determined individual and team champions at the 4 standard scholastic levels. (MD Chess and the Baltimore Kids Chess League founded this tournament to give socioeconomically disadvantaged K-12 players in Baltimore the ability to compete for free at a US-Chess-rated tournament.) Since 2012 the Kasparov Chess Foundation has retained MD Chess to run the Greater Mid-Atlantic Scholastic Chess Championships, which determines individual and team champions at the 4 standard scholastic levels. (The tournament is 1 of only 4 annual scholastic chess tournaments that KCF sponsors in America.). Since 1992 the Maryland Junior Championship and Mid-Atlantic Junior Championship has been an additional means of determining the top scholastic player in Maryland, regardless of grade.
MD Chess’s scholastic tournaments are held at schools spread throughout the state in towns and cities such as: Baltimore, Boonsboro, Chestertown, Frederick, Germantown, Hagerstown, Owings, Owings Mills, Perryville, Severna Park, and Towson.
MD Chess provides 5 annual stipends (each up to $750) for elite scholastic players to attend national tournaments: the John T. Irwin National Tournament of Senior State Champions, the GM Arnold Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions, the WIM Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions, the Dewain Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions, and the John D. Rockefeller III National Tournament of Elementary School State Champions,.
For adults and scholastic players, MD Chess runs several open tournaments: the Maryland Open, since 1948; the Baltimore Open, since 2000; the Maryland Senior Open, since 1996; the Maryland Action Championship, since 1997; the Maryland Quick Championship, since 1997; the Maryland Blitz Championship, since 2004; and the Washington International (the most elite non-invitational chess tournament in America), since 2012.
MD Chess's board members and officers are unpaid volunteers elected and appointed at MD Chess's annual board meeting at the Maryland Open. We are committed to promoting chess, because it's an interesting, challenging, and exciting game that helps people develop and maintain life-long skills, while they have fun. Chess helps people improve their concentration, recognize patterns, solve problems, cultivate teamwork among the pieces, execute short-term tactics, and develop long-term strategies. By rewarding delayed gratification, chess encourages people to resist instant gratification, value patience, and exercise impulse control.
Donations to MD Chess are tax-deductible because MD Chess is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization.