Menlo Park Chess Club

Lecture & Casual Chess Evening
2026-08-20 18:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Arrillaga Family Recreation Center, 700 Alma Street, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, United States
This week we will have a lecture beginning at 6:30pm followed by casual play for the remainder of the evening, given Mark is out of town and cannot host a blitz tournament or the like. Please bring your own clocks if you would like to play timed games — boards and sets will be provided, as always.

Lecture, Bughouse Tournament & Casual Play
2026-08-27 18:00 - 21:00
After Frisco’s lecture from 6:30-7:00pm we’ll hold a free 4- or 5-round bughouse tournament for those who are interested, though the chess room will be open and available for casual play for those who do not wish to participate. We’ll follow the rules documented here and will use the G/5+0 time control for this event. If you arrive after the tournament has started you may not be able to join in the event we are unable to maintain an even number of teams with your entry.

No Chess Club Meeting September 3rd, 2026
2026-09-03
The club will not meet Thursday, September 3rd, but will reconvene the following week for the first round of our Copa del Menlo rated tournament.

Copa Del Menlo, Round One
2026-09-10 19:00 - 21:00
To honor the FIFA World Cup this summer we’ll hold our own Copa del Menlo during three Thursdays in September (10th, 17th, 24th), a dual-rated G/45;d5 event played in small Swiss sections of 6-8 players grouped by rating, with one game played per evening. With the World Cup in mind, this will also be a team event using the so-called “snake draft” to create teams of four or so players from each section in the tournament, with an added cash prize given to the top two teams based upon total team score (the sum or all team member scores).
Given the small sections and teams nature of this event it is paramount that players are able to play all three weeks of the tournament — no byes are available and we are not planning to hold a makeup round at this time, though that could change if sufficient people request it. Full details follow:

Format: Small Swiss sections (groups of 6-8 players) based upon rating
Rounds: September 10th, 17th and 24th with no makeup round planned for this event — games begin promptly at 7:00pm
Control: G/45;d5 (dual-rated games of 45 minutes per player plus a 5-second delay per move)
Entry Fee: $20; PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12; Zelle: 650-400-6393; entire entry fee goes to the prize fund
Prizes: Based upon 32 entries and 8-player sections, each section will offer a $70 first, $40 second and $20 third prize with ties splitting the money while the top team will split $80 and the second-place team $40 (based on 4-person teams)
Byes: No byes are available for this event
Register: Registrations closed after round one
Equipment: Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you prefer your own)
Membership: All tournament participants must be current US Chess members for the duration of the event
Rules: Our tournament chess rules summary is mandatory reading if you’re new to tournament play
Info: For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
Social: Join our Facebook group or Google group to stay abreast of club news, tournaments and events

Copa del Menlo, Round Two
2026-09-17 19:00 - 21:00

Copa del Menlo, Round Three
2026-09-24 19:00 - 21:00
