2025 Annual Samford Fellowships Announced

The Frank P. Samford Jr. and Frank Samford III Chess Fellowships are pleased to announce the 39th consecutive annual awards. The Fellowships were created by the late Frank P. Samford Jr. of Birmingham, Alabama, to advance the game he loved by identifying and assisting the most promising young chess masters in the United States.

Since its inception in 1987 the Samford, under the leadership of Frank Samford III, has been successful in promoting the chess careers of more than three dozen young Americans, many of whom have gone on to become grandmasters, members of the U.S. Olympiad Chess Team and United States Chess Champions. Four members of the bronze medal-winning 2024 U.S. Women’s Olympiad team are current or former Samford Fellows.

The 2025 Fellowships are open to American chessplayers who are under the age of 25 at the start of the Fellowship year, June 1, and have been permanent residents of the U.S. since at least one year before that date. Leadership of the Fellowship program is provided by Frank P. Samford Jr.’s grandson Paul Samford, of Atlanta, Georgia, with the able help of Al Lawrence of the U.S. Chess Trust.

The 2025 Samford Chess Fellows will receive expense money to be used for training by leading chess coaches, chess books, computer equipment and other study materials, as well as opportunities to travel and compete in tournaments and matches at the highest levels. The total yearly value of the Fellowships (including training, study materials and tournament travel) is $70,000. The Fellowships are given for a one-year term. Individuals may apply more than one year and are eligible for maximum funding up to $82,000.

The 2025 Samford Fellows will be selected by the Samford Chess Fellowship Committee ("Committee"), consisting of Paul Samford, GM Yury Shulman, and IM John Donaldson. Each applicant, who can be of any gender, must be able to demonstrate talent, achievement, and commitment to chess. They must be willing to make the effort required to become a leading grandmaster and possible challenger for the world championship. For further details and an application form, write to:

John Donaldson, Secretary
Samford Chess Fellowship  
1623½ Martin Luther King Junior Way 
Berkeley, CA 94709
Email: Click here to show email address

Completed applications for the 2025 Fellowship must be received no later than May 15. The Committee expects to announce the winner by June 1. All decisions by the Committee will be final.