USCF United States Chess Federation
The national governing body of chess in the United States — operating since 1939, headquartered in Crossville, Tennessee, and the FIDE member federation for American chess.
The United States Chess Federation was founded in 1939 by the merger of two predecessor organisations (the American Chess Federation and the National Chess Federation of the United States). The USCF is the FIDE-recognised national federation for the United States, administers the US Chess Championship annually, operates its own rating system parallel to FIDE, and certifies tournament directors and arbiters for sanctioned events. Approximately 100,000 individual members across all age and rating categories as of 2026.
The Saint Louis Shift
Since the establishment of the Saint Louis Chess Club in 2008 and the philanthropic chess investment of Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield, US elite chess has become increasingly Saint Louis-centric — the US Championship, US Women’s Championship, US Junior Championship, Sinquefield Cup, and Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz are all held annually at the same club. The USCF coordinates with the Saint Louis Chess Club as the de facto operations partner for these events.