Chess House for Schools · Monthly Giveaway

Chess in every school.

Every month, we give one school five complete chess sets — pieces, bags, and custom roll-up boards printed with your school logo. Tell us about what you're building for your kids, and we might just make it easier.

Tell us about your school → Just want our free Start a Chess Club guide?

5 ×: Tournament ready club chess sets with solid Staunton pieces and Chess House drawstring bags
5 ×: Custom roll-up boards printed with your school or club logo
+: A printed Start a Chess Club guide to help your coach, teacher, or volunteer hit the ground running

Included

Your school logo, printed on every board.

Schools equipped per year

1 /month

One winner, every month

3 min

To apply — we read every one

Free

No cost to enter or win

Real felt bases. We pay attention to details that are often missed.

Superior equipment, to the last detail

The same gear we've shipped to chess clubs for decades. Only better — with a custom FlexPad board.

When we say tournament-grade, we mean it. Solid Staunton pieces with genuine felt bottoms — not the paper felt you'll find on budget sets. Flex Pad roll-up boards that show off your club while being a nice upgrade over standard equipment. Chess House drawstring bags that keep all your pieces complete and ready for play when it matters.

Who this is for

If you're building something for kids and chess, we want to hear from you.

Whether your club already exists and needs better gear, or you're starting from zero, apply. A few sentences about your kids is all it takes. Tell us why you're doing this.

Schools & classrooms

Public, private, charter, parochial. Elementary through high school. Single classrooms or school-wide programs.

After-school & community

Homeschool co-ops, enrichment programs, community centers, and organizations serving kids through chess.

Parent & student-led

PTA chess initiatives, parent-volunteer clubs, and student-led programs for the kids at their own school.

How it works

Four simple steps.

Tell us your story

A three-minute form asking about your school, your role, and what you're building.

We pick a school

A real person at Chess House reads every submission. Winners are chosen on story fit.

You send a logo, we design your board

Send us your school or club logo. Our design team prints it onto five roll-up boards in your school's colors.

We ship it

The full bundle ships free to your school, ready to unbox and start playing.

Every applicant receives something

You don't have to win to walk away with something useful.

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The free club-starter guide

Our Start a Chess Club at Your School guide, delivered by email immediately. Helps countless teachers and coaches.

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A thank-you discount

A code good on any chess equipment purchase, to help you get rolling with what your club needs.

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Our school newsletter

Monthly tips, featured clubs, and early notice of future giveaways. Unsubscribe any time.

Why we do this

Chess belongs in every school.

We're a family-owned chess shop, and we've spent a lot of time watching what chess does for kids — the focus, the confidence, the unlikely friendships across grade levels, the quiet kid who suddenly becomes the one everyone wants to play.

We've also seen how a tight equipment budget can stop a great program before it starts. So every month, we put gear in the hands of one school that's trying to make something happen. It's our small way of making sure chess belongs in every school, not just the ones with the funding for it.

Our curriculum partners at Chess4Life, led by Elliott Neff, have been doing this work alongside us for years. The Start a Chess Club guide we send to every applicant is adapted with their permission.

Apply for this month's giveaway

Three minutes. That's it.

Everyone who applies gets our free Start a Chess Club guide, a thank-you discount, and consideration for every future giveaway.

Common questions

A few things worth knowing upfront.

How many schools win each month?

One. We pick a new school at the end of each month and ship their bundle within two weeks.

How are winners chosen?

A small team at Chess House reads every submission and chooses based on story fit — who's building something real for kids, and where this gear will genuinely help. We're not looking for the fanciest application. We're looking for schools that will use this gear and love it.

Can I apply more than once?

Yes. If you apply and don't win, your submission rolls into the next month's pool automatically. You can also update your application if your situation changes.

Is there a cost to apply?

No. Applying is free, and winners pay nothing. Free shipping is included for U.S. schools.

Is the giveaway open to schools outside the U.S.?

Not at this time. The monthly giveaway is currently open to schools and school-affiliated programs located in the United States, and free shipping applies within the U.S. only. We'd love to expand this someday — if you're outside the U.S. and want to start a chess club, our Start a Chess Club guide is still yours, and we ship chess equipment to over 150 countries through our regular store.

What if our school has a complicated logo?

Send us what you have. Our design team will make sure it prints cleanly on the boards. We've done everything from simple monogram marks to full-color illustrations.

Can a private coaching business apply?

This giveaway is specifically for schools and school-affiliated clubs. Coaching businesses and commercial programs aren't eligible, but we'd love to help outfit your operation at school and club pricing. Contact us to set up a B2B account.

What if we're chosen and our school needs time to approve accepting the gift?

No problem. Once you're chosen, we'll hold your shipment until you're ready. We've been through approval processes with plenty of schools before.

Your school could be next

Five chess sets. Five custom boards.
One school a month.

Three minutes to apply. We'd love to hear about what you're building.

Apply now →

Program resources adapted with permission from the School Clubs Chess Program by Elliott Neff and Chess4Life, our longtime partners in bringing chess to schools.