WHY FREE FAQ

Why does Charlotte Free Chess insist on all of their chess clubs being free

Free school chess clubs provide many advantages. Kids whose parents couldn’t afford to pay for a club now have access. Kids who are only somewhat interested in chess will be more willing to give it a chance if its free, and they might learn they love it. More kids in a club creates a larger culture of chess that also gives many advantagees.

There is only one disadvantage, that is highly manageable, the club has less money to spend.

How do you pay your bills?

We get everything we need from volunteers and donations.

What's wrong with paid chess clubs?

Nothing. There are lots of paid chess programs in the world that do excellent work. That's simply not how we do things.

Why not just give scholarships to members that can’t afford to pay?

Because that doesn’t work..

I’ve worked in school chess clubs for 20 years, many of them (theoretically) gave scholarships. Among the thousands of kids I’ve taught chess, I can count the ones who received a scholarship on one hand The reasons for that could be discussed, but the track record remains. In any case, if you want to maximize the reach of your school chess club, including children who can’t afford it, the club must be free.