64 Players Compete in First US Chess Members Only Prize Arena

A chessboard’s worth of US Chess members competed in the first US Chess Members Only Prize Arena, with NM Chess_Star1234 finishing first among the 64-player field. Results, standings, and games can be found on the arena’s page.

As a note, in these reports, we choose not to share the names of players competing in online arenas. Players may choose to share their own names publicly on their Chess.com profiles, in which case the reader can identify them.

Arena tournaments are a unique online format that allow participants to come and go as they please without anybody having to wait until all games are finished to get paired for their next game. Points are awarded two points per win and one point per draw, with bonus points also awarded for consecutive wins (see Chess.com’s Arena FAQ page for more).

Chess_Star1234’s final score was 75 points, comprised of 20 wins, one draw, and three losses. The event lasted two hours, with each game played at a time control of five minutes per side (with no increment). If each game went down to the wire, that would be 12 games played in two hours, meaning that Chess-Star1234 was playing at literally double speed to fit 24 games into that window.

Rounding out the podium were NM Kowareni with 66 points (19 wins, two draws, and three losses), and NM RH152 with 63 points (19 wins, three draws, and three losses). The importance of streaks should be clear, as Kowareni finished with 40 “raw” points compared to RH152’s 41, but amassed more bonus points from consecutive victories.

Prizes were awarded to the top three finishers as well as the player who put up the longest winning streak and the player who won the biggest upset. Each prize winner will receive a 2025 US Chess Team Uniform Jacket.

As it happens, the prize for longest streak went to NM LSChess, who just missed out on the podium, finishing fourth 58 points (16 wins, three draws, and two losses). But because they kicked off the tournament with a tournament-best 13-game win streak, they still won a prize.

The final jacket went to TCBBR, who was rated 494 at the time they defeated a player who was 1,588 points higher rated.

Personally, I enjoyed my experience competing in the arena, and I particularly enjoyed the novel experience of playing blitz at work, which I have totally definitely never done before. I even contributed to the win streaks of both the first- and second-place finishers, and they each impressed me with their speed and resilience.

The fair play protocols required downloading Proctor software and using my phone as a secondary camera view, and I was concerned that these extra steps might get in the way of my comfort or ability to play. Alas, I’ll have to look elsewhere for my excuses, as the software was seamless and I found a sense of reassurance that my opponents were even more likely than normal to be playing a clean game.

US Chess plans to organize more arena events in the future. Keep an eye out on Chess Life Online for announcements about future tournaments, and follow US Chess on Facebook and X for more updates. In the time being, for more online tournaments, join the US Chess – Members Only club on Chess.com for regular Swiss System events. Members who identify as female are also invited to join the US Chess Women club on Chess.com.