You must be a United States Chess Federation member to play any rated US tournaments. In this detailed guide, we will explain to you how to purchase a USCF membership from the US Chess Federation Website and also explain to you the various benefits of purchasing the membership.
To apply for the USCF member
- Go to uschess.org page
- On the right side, find the tab “join” and click become a member
- On the loaded page, they mentioned the benefits of joining US chess, and if you scroll further down, you can see a table with a list of memberships.
- Select the type you want and fill out the other details, and in the end, if you want you can subscribe to their magazine Chess Life or Chess Life Kids for a year.
Various membership types with their pricing
- Adult (Any person not qualifying for or choosing one of the below): $45 for one year; $87 for two years
- Senior (Age 65 and over): $40 for one year; $77 for two years
- Young Adult (Age under 24): $27 for one year; $51 for two years
- Youth (Age under 18): $20 for one year; $37 for two years
- Family Plan 1 (Parents and children under age 19, may include college age students up to age 24): $85 for one year
- Family Plan 2 (All children under age 19 living in a household at the same address): $55 for one year
- Life Member (Age 64 and under): $1,500 – One time payment
- Life Member (Age 65 and over): $750 – One-time payment
- Benefactor Member (Any age): $3000 – One time payment
- Blind Life (Any age): $375 – One time payment
- Special Blind or Incarcerated: $18 for one year
The majority of Chess Gaja readers can get the youth or the Young Adult, or Adult membership
Benefits of USCF membership
- Play official US Chess rated games, online or in person, for national and local events.
- Recognition for your performance across age, gender, and game categories in our Top 100 lists.
- Opportunities to improve as a player, chess organizer, coach, or tournament director through webinars and official certifications.
- Voting Rights in US Chess Elections; participate in governance and have your say in the future of chess in America.
- Digital access to Chess Life and Chess Life Kids, our award-winning magazines.
- Print editions of Chess Life and/or Chess Life Kids (opt-in fees apply).
- Helping us grow the game in America and worldwide!
All the information in the blog is written as of August – 2022.
Once you have applied for the membership, you will immediately become a member.
All the best for your upcoming tournaments from Chess Gaja.
