Get to Know Us and Our Chess History
Ocean State Chess Association is the Official Rhode Island State Chapter Affiliate of the U.S. Chess Federation. We are a registered non-profit organization in the State of Rhode Island and help promote chess. We organize the most adult and scholastic chess tournaments in Rhode Island as well as the Ocean State Scholastic Chess League involving school team competitions by providing free chess sets, lessons, and other support to schools and chess clubs. Our board members are all trained tournament directors who are dedicated to helping promote chess, and support players, parents, and coaches. We also collaborate with other states and the New England Chess Association (NECA). We have the largest group of trained USCF tournament directors who run the most tournaments of any chess organization in Rhode Island.
In addition to running scholastic and adult tournaments, we also organize the Ocean State Scholastic Chess League which organizes school team competitions for high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools in Rhode Island. Teams begin practicing during the fall months of September through December. The schedule for School matches starts during the first week of January and runs through the end of March each year. We also support local college chess programs in our state and run many tournaments with the collegiate chess clubs on campus. If you run a chess club, please contact us so we can help support your program. We look forward to working with you to be a part of our Rhode Island chess community.
Our History: The Ocean State Scholastic Chess Association was formed in 2016 by Frank DelBonis, who has been a dedicated teacher and chess coach for almost 40 years. Subsequently, he is the original founder and was the former President of SENECA (Rhode Island Chess Association) for 27 years. Frank is currently a Social Studies Teacher and chess coach in Providence, Rhode Island. He’s also teaches a college course called “Critical Thinking & Chess” at New England Institute of Technology (New England Tech). In addition, he’s a certified U.S. Chess Federation Associate National Tournament Director and has run over 250+ tournaments in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and other New England states. Frank’s high school and middle school chess teams have won over 30 Rhode Island M.S./H.S. League and R.I. State Championship Tournaments, and his teams have attended 13 National U.S. Championships. Furthermore, he has also coached multiple college chess teams throughout the years including Brown University, Rhode Island College, University of Rhode Island, and New England Institute of Technology.
