DMV Chess

♟️ About DMV Chess

DMV Chess is a chess tournament and education organization serving the Washington, D.C.–Maryland–Virginia (DMV) region, with particularly extensive activity in Northern Virginia and Maryland. It has operated organized chess events and school programs since 2017. Rather than functioning as a traditional membership club, DMV Chess combines US Chess-rated tournament organization, scholastic chess, online competition, chess instruction, camps, and after-school programs under one structure. Tournament activity is at the center of DMV Chess’s work. The organization runs frequent over-the-board events in Virginia and Maryland, together with larger weekend tournaments that sometimes extend into other states. Its recurring series include the DMV Open, Beltway Open, Metropolitan Open, Benjamin Franklin Open, scholastic championships, action tournaments, and FIDE-rated classical competitions. Online, DMV Chess currently runs four US Chess-rated tournaments every week. Its wider online tournament operation reports almost 2,000 rated events and more than 10,000 unique participants. Josh Hiban is the current In-Person Tournaments Manager and the principal operational contact for DMV Chess events. He is also involved in the organization’s online programs and school activities. Other key team members include NM Justin Burgess, Director of Online Programs; tournament director and developer Nikolas Theiss; and Stephen Jablon, chief organizer of the DMV Chess League. In 2026, DMV Chess completed another busy summer of major tournaments and entered September with an extensive schedule of scholastic, action, and FIDE-rated events in Rockville, Tysons, and Herndon.

🏆 Major Tournament Program

DMV Chess organizes both local one-day events and larger multi-day weekend tournaments. The larger competitions generally offer several rating sections, flexible schedules, US Chess rating, and FIDE rating in selected top sections. Its major 2026 summer calendar included the 4th Annual Metropolitan Open from June 5–7, followed by the 4th Annual DMV Open from July 10–12 in Sterling, Virginia. The organization then expanded its regional activity with the 3rd Annual Benjamin Franklin Open, held from July 31 to August 2 in Westampton, New Jersey, and the 5th Annual Beltway Open from August 7–9 near Washington Dulles International Airport. The Beltway Open used a five-round Swiss format with three rating sections and a $3,500 guaranteed prize fund. Its Premier section was both US Chess- and FIDE-rated.

♟️ Local and FIDE-Rated Chess

DMV Chess maintains a year-round over-the-board calendar rather than limiting itself to several major Opens. As of September 2026, upcoming events include the Shady Grove Scholastic Championship and Rockville Late-Summer Action Tournament on September 6, followed by the 6th Tysons Corner Scholastic Championship and Tysons Corner Fall Action Tournament on September 13. The organization is also scheduled to hold a DMV FIDE Classical tournament in Herndon on September 26–27, 2026. Further scholastic and action events continue through October, November, and December. This regular schedule gives players frequent opportunities to build US Chess ratings while also creating stepping-stones toward longer classical and FIDE-rated competition.

🎓 Chess Education and Online Training

Education is another major part of DMV Chess. Its current online program provides courses for players ranging from beginners to approximately 2000 USCF, with separate groups based on rating and experience. The coaching team includes IM Joshua Posthuma, NM Justin Burgess, NM Sam Martin, and US Chess Expert Epiphany Peters. Advanced and elite students combine instruction with weekly rated games and post-game analysis. The current program also includes Chess Foundations for new scholastic tournament players. Meanwhile, a dedicated adult course serves players from beginner level through approximately 1600 USCF. Because instruction is online, students can participate from throughout the United States rather than only from the Washington metropolitan area.

🌱 School and Scholastic Chess

DMV Chess has operated school chess programs since 2017 and provides after-school clubs for elementary, middle, and high schools. The organization supplies instructors, chess equipment, structured lessons, registration administration, and family communication. Coaches are background checked, and scholarship or reduced-cost places are available for students with financial need. A typical school program runs for 8–12 weeks, with each meeting combining instruction and supervised practice games. DMV Chess also connects school programs with tournament participation. Students can progress into local scholastic championships, US Chess-rated competition, and national championship preparation.

💻 Online Tournament Chess

DMV Chess maintains one of the most active recurring online schedules in US Chess-rated competition. The organization currently runs four rated online tournaments every week: Wednesday Open Action, Thursday Open Rapid, Saturday Scholastic, and Sunday Open Action. The events use different rapid and action time controls and are submitted for the appropriate US Chess online rating categories. Saturday competition is reserved for scholastic players, while the other weekly events are open to both adults and juniors. DMV Chess also organizes the World Series of Online Chess, a championship program combining online blitz, scholastic, and open competition.