Central Florida Chess Club

♟️ About Central Florida Chess Club

The Central Florida Chess Club (CFCC) is a long-established chess organization and US Chess tournament organizer serving the Orlando and Central Florida chess community. Founded in 1987, the club was created by bringing together the original Orlando Chess Club and Winter Park Chess Club with the goal of strengthening organized chess across the region. CFCC operates as a volunteer-led nonprofit organization and has developed primarily around competitive over-the-board chess. Over the course of its history, the club has organized more than 400 US Chess-rated tournaments and has awarded more than three decades of CFCC Club Championship titles. The club is currently led by Larry Storch, a US Chess Original Life Master and longtime CFCC President. The 2026–2027 Board of Directors also includes Kevin Sibbitt as Vice-President, Wayne Strickland as Treasurer, and board members Harvey Lerman and Daniel Smith. Kevin Sibbitt additionally serves as Webmaster and Scholastic Coordinator. Tournament operations are supported by an experienced technical team. Steven Vigil serves as Senior Tournament Director, while Charles Hatherill is a US Chess National Tournament Director and FIDE Arbiter. Together, they oversee many of CFCC’s major weekend events.

🏆 Tournaments & Chess Activities

CFCC is best known for its recurring Winter Open, Sunshine Open, and Autumn Open & Scholastic tournaments. These multi-day events attract adult, junior, scholastic, master-level, and titled players from throughout Florida and beyond. The typical CFCC weekend tournament is divided into several rating-based sections, allowing players to compete against opponents of comparable strength. Recent events have included Master/Expert, Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, and Scholastic sections. The highest sections are often FIDE-rated as well as US Chess-rated. CFCC also regularly adds a Saturday Night Blitz tournament to its major weekend festivals. This gives participants a second competitive format alongside the main classical event and has attracted titled players including Grandmasters, International Masters, and FIDE Masters. The 2026 Sunshine Open & Scholastic illustrates the scale of the current tournament program. The event attracted 213 players across six sections, with the Scholastic section alone drawing 64 participants. A separate Saturday Night Blitz added another competitive event to the weekend. Later that year, the 2026 Autumn Open & Scholastic continued the seasonal series at Delta Hotels by Marriott Orlando Celebration. Its top section produced a four-way tie for first place between several National Masters and Candidate Masters, while the accompanying scholastic and blitz competitions provided additional opportunities for developing players. CFCC has already announced its 2027 Winter Open & Scholastic, Sunshine Open & Scholastic, and Autumn Open & Scholastic, continuing the club’s established annual tournament cycle.

🌱 Scholastic Chess & Player Development

Scholastic chess has become an increasingly visible part of CFCC’s tournament program. Major weekend events normally include a dedicated Scholastic U1200 section, which gives younger and less-experienced players a competitive environment separate from the higher-rated adult sections. CFCC’s scholastic program is coordinated by Kevin Sibbitt, who also serves as Vice-President and Webmaster. Scholastic sections typically follow a shorter tournament schedule and time control while remaining US Chess-rated. Young players also have a pathway into the regular adult sections as their ratings improve. This allows juniors to progress from the Scholastic section into Class D, Class C, and eventually the stronger FIDE-rated sections. The club additionally maintains an online community through its official Chess.com club. The online club has more than one thousand members and has hosted recurring Rapid events, giving players another way to participate in CFCC activity outside the major in-person tournament weekends.

🥇 Club History & Competitive Tradition

Since its establishment in 1987, CFCC has maintained a continuous tradition of competitive club chess. Its annual Club Championship has produced a long list of strong Florida players, including National Masters, FIDE Masters, International Masters, and other prominent competitors. Early champions included Larry Storch, Mark Ryan, Richard Sobel, Nick Schoonmaker, and Wilmer Chavira. Later winners have included FM Ray Robson, IM Daniel Ludwig, NM John Ludwig, FM Dalton Perrine, and other leading regional players. The club previously held regular weekly meetings in addition to tournaments. However, after its Winter Park meeting location was damaged by Hurricane Charley in 2004, CFCC gradually shifted its focus toward organizing and hosting larger US Chess-rated tournament events throughout Central Florida. That tournament-focused model remains central to the club today. Rather than functioning around a single weekly clubhouse, CFCC organizes major events at suitable hotel and conference venues in the Orlando and Kissimmee area.

⚖️ Tournament Organization & Recognition

CFCC’s tournament program is supported by experienced US Chess-certified directors. Steven Vigil, Senior Tournament Director, has served as Chief Tournament Director at many of the club’s seasonal Opens. Charles Hatherill, a National Tournament Director and FIDE Arbiter, regularly handles the FIDE-rated sections and senior tournament administration. In 2026, US Chess named Hatherill Tournament Director of the Year, recognizing his work at national, regional, and local tournaments. The club’s leadership is also deeply involved in event delivery. President Larry Storch and Vice-President Kevin Sibbitt coordinate organization, communication, logistics, photography, tournament information, and player services around the weekend festivals. This combination of experienced organizers and certified tournament directors has allowed CFCC to run events ranging from scholastic sections to FIDE-rated master competition within the same weekend.