US Chess Seeks Correspondents for Spring Scholastic National Championships

US Chess Seeks Correspondents for Chess Life Online

Update (March 12 2023): We are no longer accepting applications for the K-12 Championship, but are still open for applications for the K-8 and K-6 Championships.

Chess Life Online is seeking an on-site correspondent for daily reporting on each of the three Spring Scholastic National Championships.

For each day, we are looking for roughly 750 words covering the day’s events and standings, with delivery by 10:00 a.m. CT the following day. We are looking for one individual per event. Applicants who cannot cover all three days of an event are encouraged to apply as long as they specify their availability.

Before a correspondent is hired, they must first pass a US Chess background check. 

These events are:

The 2023 National High School (K-12) Championship in Washington, D.C., from March 31 through April 2.

The 2023 National Middle School (K-8) Championship in Round Rock, Texas, from April 21 through April 23.

The 2023 National Elementary School (K-6) Championship in Baltimore, Maryland, from May 12 through 14.

Examples of previous coverage of similar events can be found here, here, and here.

We will have an official event photographer at the event. However, if you happen to capture a photo that fits our needs and your story, feel free to include with your daily report. If we use it, that will be an additional payment.

Pay: $250/day, negotiable based on experience/FIDE title. If we agree that you will be providing annotated games, that will be an additional fee.

Please send a letter of interest to JJ Lang, US Chess’s Digital Assistant, and include writing samples. In the subject line, please include which event(s) you are interested in covering. You may also contact JJ with any questions. 

Writers are NOT expected to provide annotated games. Suggestions of games worth highlighting are welcome, but not required. However, for the right correspondent (typically FM or higher) this could potentially be part of the coverage.

Word file or Google doc for the text is preferred; no pdf.

We will do online layout, find, and embed photos, etc. DO NOT EMBED PHOTOS IN YOUR TEXT. You can suggest a headline if you like; if it’s good, we’ll probably use it. We reserve the right to edit all content for US Chess style.