The Complete Guide to Chess Scholarships
The celebration of the Class of 2026 is going strong at high schools across the country this month. If you have a rising junior or senior, the strains of Pomp and Circumstance might be making you nervous about what happens next. If you have SAT scores, the FAFSA, and college applications dominating your household conversation, you’re probably also thinking, “How are we going to pay for this college degree?” Scholarships to the rescue! We’ve compiled a guide to chess scholarships for your soon-to-be graduate, from national elite level players to members of the school chess club.
National Chess Scholarships
Scholar-Chessplayer Award: US Chess and the US Chess Trust jointly sponsor the annual Scholar-Chessplayer Awards for deserving chess players based on these four criteria:
- Play at least 25 regular-rated US Chess or FIDE games during the current academic year.
- Show outstanding achievement in academics and chess (Scholastic Chess Ambassadors are not required to be highly rated).
- Have completed at least one year of chess-related community service since starting the ninth grade.
- Describe in an essay of 500 words how being selected as a Scholar-Chessplayer will enable the recipient to further their education, improve their chess, and allow them to continue contributing to the chess community.
In 2026, each recipient received $1,500 for the college of their choice. The Chess Ambassador award was created in 2022 to recognize students with outstanding chess citizenship credentials without regard to ELO rating. Keep an eye on the US Chess Trust homepage for announcement of the next award cycle and get your high schooler volunteering in the chess community ASAP.
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Scholastic Tournaments: Major chess tournaments like the Supernational K-12 Championship held every four years and other national championships award thousands of dollars of scholarship money to event winners. Pay attention to the tournaments your child is able to participate in for prizes. If your chess kid wins scholarship awards, be sure to keep all the records on how to claim those awards in one safe place. When those college bills come, you’ll need to submit paperwork to get the funds released. If your chess kid is racking up funds in elementary school (it happens!), you’ll need to be organized about tracking it.
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Colleges with Chess Programs
Universities and colleges with strong chess programs use scholarship money to entice the best high school chess players to commit to their institutions. Colleges in elite divisions may offer scholarships to students who will be part of the chess program, similar to sports scholarships. Sponsoring colleges often give awards to winners of major scholastic tournaments. These scholarships are specific to the institution granting them, but having a scholarship available will expand your choices.
Titled players (Grandmaster and International Master) may qualify for prestigious chess programs at Ivy League and top-ranking schools like the University of Missouri, St. Louis University, Texas Tech, or the University of Texas (Rio Grande Valley or Dallas campuses). If your student might be a fit for one of these teams, contacting the program head early is key. Many of these teams are small and very selective, so it's not just a matter of qualifying on paper. Head to the chess program page for the university and get in touch.
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One example of the benefits available to elite collegiate players is University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Their chess team competes at the highest level, including the "Division I" of chess--the President's Cup. The UMBC chess program offers significant fellowship and scholarship awards to high-level chess players (ELO 2000/2400+) that can cover up to full tuition plus a stipend. Their UMBC chess scholarship site has more information on how to apply.
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Local Scholarships
The majority of high school chess players aren’t going to be eligible for national scholarships. There is still chess-related money out there for them! Many high schools have a list of locally-sponsored scholarships that students should apply for along with regional and national ones. Many of these focus on specific activities, accomplishments, or leadership skills. The counseling department at your high school will be able to help aim your student in the right direction. Depending on the school, students may be required to apply to all of the scholarships they qualify for individually, or they might have the option of applying for multiple scholarships with one application.
Local chess clubs also frequently offer scholarships to club members as a stand-alone award or for tournament wins. If your chess player isn’t already a member of the local club, they need to be! It’s a great way to get volunteer hours as well as meet other like-minded players.
National Scholarship Databases
Don't overlook the large scholarship aggregator databases. High schools often recommend sites like College Board (Big Future), Scholarships360, Fastweb, and Naviance. You can search these databases for “chess” and see if any of the hits apply.
A little caution is in order, however. These databases sometimes have scammy “scholarships” that don’t seem to materialize. If something sounds too good to be true, like “no essay” scholarships for large dollars, beware. Never let your teen apply for a scholarship that requires them to pay money up front, provide sensitive personal information like SSNs or bank accounts, or “guaranteed” money. Legitimate scholarships are free, have some method of qualifying, and can be verified by investigating the source.
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Highlighting Chess on Scholarship Applications
What’s the best way to highlight chess experience for a scholarship application or personal essay?
Facts are good, but they don’t tell the whole story. Include your title and/or ELO rating, but remember that an ELO rating by itself doesn’t always communicate what a player did to get there. Include your wins and losses, your ELO rating growth, and any notable victories. It’s much more compelling if you can do that in the form of a story rather than assembling random facts.
Compare:
“My ELO rating as of June 2, 2026, is 2031 for classical chess, 2108 for rapid.”
OR
“During my high school career, I improved my ELO rating for classical chess from 1654 to 2026 by entering the most challenging tournaments I could. My rapid ELO of 2108 is even higher. I played in the American City Classic Blitz tournament in 2025 and defeated six opponents in a round robin to place 2nd in the tournament.”
Use one or two specific examples in your essays and be sure to give the “here’s why it mattered" punchline. “I walked away from that tournament with a heartbreaking loss, but that motivated me to work harder to win the next one,” for example.
What if you’re applying for a non-chess scholarship, but want to use your chess experience to qualify? Most people aren’t familiar with ELO ratings or different types of chess, but chess is more than just a record of wins and losses. Highlight how chess develops problem solving and analytical skills, hones work ethic, and teaches perseverance and grace under pressure. The emotional and intellectual skills gained playing chess are valuable and transferable!
General Scholarship Tips
The number one reason kids miss out on scholarship money is not meeting the application deadlines. Scholarship committees cannot consider your application if it’s not in front of them. It pays to start your scholarship hunt early and create a calendar or list of those of interest with cutoff dates. Don’t have regrets about what could have been if you’d just paid attention to the deadline.
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The next most common mistake is not following the directions, believe it or not. People who review applications say they disqualify a heart-breaking number for submitting an incomplete application or one with erroneous elements. If it requires a 500-word essay, it needs to have a 500-word essay, not a presentation or a 3,000-word novella. Fill out any forms completely and make sure to include all requested elements in the correct format. This often requires essays and other submissions to be slightly (or significantly) reworked. Remember—it’s free money!
Motivation pays off! When no one applies, scholarship money goes unawarded. Your student should apply for everything they might possibly qualify for, even if it’s not specific to chess. Many awards consider achievements across a broad range of activities, looking for leadership, outstanding effort, and commitment to excellence. Chess experience at tournaments, on a team, or in the chess club definitely qualifies.
Good Luck, Class of 2027 and Beyond!
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Now is a good time for the next wave of juniors and seniors to start researching scholarship opportunities and getting applications in. Graduation 2027 will be here all too soon. Turn in those scholarship applications on time, complete, and showcasing your scholastic chess player’s valuable experience. Best of luck to you and your (future) graduate!