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…
At Puddletown Chess, when you see players improving, winning games, and moving up levels, it might seem like everything just works. But behind the scenes, there’s an entire system of frameworks, founders, processes & volunteers working to make sure every student gets the best training possible. It’s not just about the…
If you’re new to scholastic chess tournaments, you’ve probably experienced this moment: your child finishes with the same score as another player—but doesn’t get the same trophy or placement. It feels confusing, maybe even unfair. What’s going on? Let’s talk about tiebreaks. In chess tournaments, players earn points: 1 point for…
The May Flowers Open II tournament was great! 141 players played in the tournament, nearly making a full tournament. 50 entries were provided for free: 40 female players and 10 low income/rural players. 11 people played in their first USCF rated tournament. Shoutout to John Hart. The kids are always happy…