Allentown Center City Chess Club -- Some Quick History
Allentown has a rich history of chess clubs and chess activity. The original Allentown Chess Club is the most well-known of those groups.
Lehigh Valley Chess Club was a chess group that met at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem in the early 1990s under the guidance of Louis Sigmund. The Lehigh Valley group ran many USCF-rated tournaments during its Friday night meetings. The group disbanded in the mid 1990s.
Allentown Center City Chess Club is an outgrowth of an informal chess group started by Tom Heffelfinger and Steve Miller in 1992-93.
Organizer Eric C. Johnson (who ran many of the events for Lehigh Valley Chess Club) partnered with Allentown Center City Chess Club in late 1993 and started running USCF-rated events at the St. Luke's Church location on Saturday afternoons.
These events proved so popular that they are now the main club activity.
Many people have contributed to the success of the club over the years -- including: Greg and Sascha Fink, Mark Knerr, Jack Mongilutz, Bruce Davis, the Traldi family, David Locke, David Elliott, Richard Blank, Jim Strobel, the Kleinfeld family, the Yeager family, Michael Cox, Laverne Gildner, Phil Rizzo, Allan Messinger, the Thanakit family, and many, many others who have played and helped keep things going over the past 15+ years.
Club events have attracted hundreds of different players from all over Pennsylvania and surrounding states.
The club has assisted the Pennsylvania State Chess Federation (PSCF) by hosting the official state championship on multiple occasions. Our playing site is well-lit and very suitable to tournament chess.
One of the longest-running events at the club is the monthly "Second Saturday Quad" tournament (see the "Events & Activities" page for more details). As of early 2008, the club has run more than 170 of these events.
Club events are open to all USCF members. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, playing in a tournament is a great way to improve your game.
Please note: Allentown Center City Chess Club has no connection to the original "Allentown Chess Club" that ran events for many years. The original Allentown group disbanded in 1991. Many original Allentown Chess Club members now play at Allentown Center City Chess Club.
