United States Armed Forces Chess

United States Armed Forces Chess refers to the annual Armed Forces Chess Championship held annually since 1960 by the United States Department of Defense and the United States Chess Federation. It also refers to the study of the game of chess by the United States Armed Forces for military applications.

The first tournament was held in 1960, and continued uninterrupted until 1993, when the support of the United States Department of Defense was withdrawn. The United States Chess Federation and the US Chess Center supported the tournaments until 2001, when the support of the US Department of Defense was resumed. Emory Tate won the Armed Forces Chess Championship five times, in 1983, 1984, and three times in a row from 1987-1989, an unequaled record.

The tournaments were:

1960, the first U.S. Armed Forces Chess Championship (USAFCC) was held at the American Legion Hall of Flags in Washington, D.C. There were 12 invited participants. Air Force Captain John Hudson and Army SP4 Arthur Feuerstein tied for 1st place. Feuerstein was four times New York state champion. Hudson was a bombardier-navigator on B-52 bombers and a former US Amateur champion.

1961, Captain John Hudson won the 2nd US Armed Forces championship. The tournament was sponsored by the US Chess Federation, the American Chess Foundation, and the USO.

1962, SP4 Roy Mallett won the 3rd US Armed Forces championship.

1963, Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Irwin Lyon won the 4th US Armed Forces championship. This was the first year that the Coast Guard was represented in this annual event.

1964, Air Force 1st Lieutenant Donato Rivera de Jesus won the 5th US Armed Forces championship. He played for Puerto Rico in the Varna Chess Olympiad in 1962.

1965, Air Force Airman David Lees (1943-1996) won the 6th US Armed Forces championship. He also won the Texas State Championship in 1965. The event was held at the American Legion’s Hall of Flags in Washington, D. C.

1966, Army SP4 Chester Wozney won the 7th US Armed Forces championship.

1967, Army SP4 Michael Senkiewicz won the 8th US Armed Forces championship. He was also a world class Scrabble player, backgammon player, and poker player. He played for the British Virgin Islands in the 1988 chess Olympiad, scoring 9 out of 12. He was once ranked 35th in the nation in chess.

1968, Army Private First Class Charles "Charlie" Powell (1944-1991) won the 9th US Armed Forces championship. He was 7-time Virginia champion and beat Bobby Fischer in a simul.

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