Every great movement has a bold goal. At Puddletown, ours is this: help 1,000 students reach a USCF rating of 1,000. We call it our BHAG, our “Big Hairy Audacious Goal.” And while the phrase may sound funny, the mission is anything but. Why 1,000 Rating? A USCF rating of 1,000…
At Puddletown, people often ask us: Why focus on certain groups of kids? Why make a special effort for girls and non-binary students, for kids from low-income families, or for kids growing up in rural communities? Isn’t chess supposed to be for everyone? It is supposed to be. But the reality…
At first glance, it looks simple: if you’re good at chess, you can coach chess. Right? Well… not quite. At Puddletown, we’ve seen that being a strong player is just the baseline. Our coaches actually juggle three very different hats every single session: chess expertise, communication skills, and leadership. Without all…
Our October Golden Autumn II tournament drew 153 players, our largest ever turnout!! Everyone got candy to celebrate Halloween a bit early. We provided nearly 50 free entries: 38 for girls, 10 for rural/low income players. 4 players participated in their first USCF-rated tournament. One fun story: after the main award…
At Puddletown, we’ve learned something important: there’s no single “type” of chess kid. Some kids want to hang out and casually move pieces around. Others want to climb the rating ladder as fast as possible. Some fall in love with puzzles, some with tournaments, and some just with free pizza at…
Back when we first launched Puddletown, we had no idea we’d one day run 36+ webinars for chess players across the world. We just wanted to bring more people into our growing community - and maybe make it a little easier for beginners to level up. Fast forward to today, and…
At Puddletown, volunteers are not just helpers—they're the backbone of everything we do. When people hear about our nonprofit, they often ask how we’ve managed to grow so fast or how just four teenagers can organize training & tournaments for hundreds of kids across the world. The real secret? Volunteers. From…
Puddletown 3rd Anniversary Tournament Recap This weekend marked our 3rd anniversary, and we celebrated in style during our September tournament. We had the 3rd largest gathering of Puddletown players with exactly 150 participants! Notably, 9 new players participated in their first-ever USCF-rated tournament! Thank You to Our Sponsors 🙏 A big…
Imagine this: you've traveled to St. Louis to play in one of the most prestigious youth events in the US, for your fourth year this time. The nine other girls in your section are among the top young female players, and you're all fighting for the $15,000 first prize. Imagine that…
We decided to dedicate our 2025 June tournament theme to the people who make Puddletown way more than just a place to play chess. The ones who show up early, stay late, support our mistakes, cheer on our wins, and honestly believe in us even when we blunder five moves in…
Thanks to everyone who joined my recent webinar! We had a great time discussing some sharp ideas, practical tips, and common tournament rules. Here’s a quick summary of the most interesting questions from the Q&A, in case you missed it—or just want a refresher! Q: What are the benefits of commanding…
The Sixth Rank (June) Puddletown Chess Tournament was a resounding success! Among them, 12 players were attending their first USCF-rated tournament, and 36 were girls. This was one of our biggest event at Puddletown so far. We hope to keep serving the community with high quality chess tournaments and training! Quick…
In today’s world, having a strong online presence is essential, even for a youth-led organization like ours. When we started Puddletown Chess, we didn’t just want to create a place for students to learn the game. We wanted to build a community. That meant reaching players, families, and partners beyond the…
If you’ve ever played a Saturday tournament with us, tuned into a founder-led webinar, or even just popped into one of our online training program sessions, you already know—we take chess seriously. But what you might not know is that we also take volunteering just as seriously. And if you’re a…
At Puddletown Chess, we don’t just teach chess—we build a community where everyone has the opportunity to learn, compete, and grow. A big part of that mission is making sure chess is accessible to all, no matter their background. That’s why donations play a huge role in what we do. Over…