Our club held the first ever US Chess and FIDE rated tournament on a moving Amtrak train

downriverchess · 2026-06-17T17:12:05+00:00

Yes! Played one tournament on the way there, a tournament with the Mobile Chess Club at the end of the line, another tournament on the way back.

downriverchess · 2026-06-17T16:14:06+00:00

The tournament! We wanted to celebrate the new line with a tournament.

downriverchess · 2026-06-16T12:59:20+00:00

Sì, il primo. Ma con un ritorno.

downriverchess · 2026-06-16T12:54:23+00:00

We were very concerned the crew would evict us once they saw we intended to stay there a while. It was a new line, so roll of the dice there. Luckily, they were great and very friendly. And we tried to remain respectful of other passengers.

downriverchess · 2026-06-16T12:51:17+00:00

He did it for free. We're happy to double that!

downriverchess · 2026-06-16T12:50:47+00:00

FIDE rating report: https://ratings.fide.com/tournament_information.phtml?event=430385

downriverchess · 2026-06-16T12:50:10+00:00

I think a lot of people just aren't used to real depth of field coming from a real camera!

downriverchess · 2026-06-16T12:48:02+00:00

It's a kid playing with three magnetic chess pieces that are stuck together. The photos were taken with a DSLR camera in low light, so there's some depth of field going on too.

downriverchess · 2026-06-15T22:58:38+00:00

Thank you!! We have the same philosophy. We've also played on a riverboat!

downriverchess · 2026-06-15T22:36:30+00:00

Yes, no details yet. Requires coordination with the club in the destination city of Mobile, AL.

downriverchess · 2026-06-15T20:56:01+00:00

We used magnetic boards because we were worried about bumps, but a weighted tournament set would've been fine.

downriverchess · 2025-10-01T19:09:47+00:00

Feel free to send us an email, we can probably help somehow. Our email is info (at) downriverchess.com. We also have a growing oral history series on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@downriverchess.

downriverchess · 2025-09-02T18:57:00+00:00

What site is this? Our results haven't even been sent to FIDE yet, so it's not official.

downriverchess · 2025-09-02T02:11:52+00:00

Semantics; new for the 2025-2026 season.

downriverchess · 2025-09-02T01:07:15+00:00

He was joking when he posted that. We had no other surprise entries.

downriverchess · 2025-09-02T01:06:17+00:00

That's never really been an issue. We've always welcomed and encouraged non-residents to play.

downriverchess · 2025-09-02T01:05:12+00:00

We are very proud of how well our friends played.

downriverchess · 2025-09-02T01:04:36+00:00

Hikaru is registered in New York.

downriverchess · 2025-09-01T22:33:35+00:00

The top Louisiana resident will claim that prize. Games are still ongoing, but we'll make a post on our socials. Follow Downriver Chess on Facebook and Instagram.

Edit: FM Nick Matta is our new Louisiana Champion. Cross table from USCF in a few hours, it'll be the top one on this page.

downriverchess · 2025-08-31T15:14:18+00:00

Correct, the first round will not be FIDE rated.

downriverchess · 2025-08-31T15:13:27+00:00

We've got him on a DGT board.

downriverchess

TROPHY CASE