About Us
Starting in 1995 as MyChessClub.us, George Foote and Scott Pfeiffer created an organization to provide scholastic chess opportunities for the students of Northeast Florida. This included starting school clubs and running multiple tournaments each year. Our longest running tournament, the “Jacksonville Scholastic Championship,” has been held consistently for the past 25 years and had as many as 160 students in attendance.
In 2017, Kevin Pryor, Director of the Jacksonville Chess Club, merged his fast-growing rated scholastic series and the name was changed to ScholasticChess.org a 501(c)(3) Not-For-Profit corporation. Both George and Kevin are United States Chess Federation Certified Coaches.
ScholasticChess.org now runs a Northeast Florida tournament schedule and many options for schools and students that want to add chess to their educational experience. We also partner with ChessKid.com to provide the highest quality of online training/playing and we run summer camps, mini-camps and exhibitions for students of all skill levels. Please browse our website to learn more about the many opportunities and options we have for schools and scholastic players here in Northeast Florida.
Our goal is to empower students one move at at time!
George Foote
Known as "The Dean of Scholastic Chess" in Jacksonville, Coach Foote has been a fixture in the Jacksonville scholastic chess community for over 25 years. He has taught chess to over 1,000 students in that time, been the tournament promoter/director for the Jacksonville Scholastic Championship since 1997, is a certified USCF coach and TD, and is a former Florida Chess Association Scholastic Board Member. His students have competed on the local, state, and national level. Coach Foote’s teaching style accentuates the positive aspects of a student's progress as he strives to keep them at the limit of their abilities so they continue to learn and enjoy the great game of chess.
Coach Foote is currently an At-Large Member of the Florida Chess Association Board of Directors, a member of the USCF Scholastic Committee, and Editor of Florida Chess magazine.
Kevin Pryor
Kevin is an internationally recognized chess instructor certified by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). He is a US Chess Federation Senior Tournament Director and Certified Chess Coach. Kevin started a rated scholastic events Series, bringing USCF-rated competitions to kids while conducting a popular Sunday afternoon Chess Academy Development Program. The program trains kids to compete locally, state, and nationally. Kevin is also one of the most active chess leaders in the country and is the current President of the US Chess Federation (uschess.org). He founded the Jacksonville Chess Club and the Gainesville Chess Experience.