64 Square Chess Fund

  • A registered 501(c) 3 Non-Profit Organization with the goal of providing scholarships and funding for chess players in pursuit of their dreams.

    Meeting Notes
    Bylaws
    Board of Directors

    Current Scholarships

    There are currently no active scholarships. Please see the ‘Upcoming Scholarships’ for more information

    Upcoming Scholarships

    Blindfold Chess Podcast Scholarship

    Scholarship Amount

    • First Place – $300 – Featured individual in Season 5 Episode 1 of the Blindfold Chess Podcast
    • Second Place – $150 – Potential featured individual in Season 5 Episode 1 of the Blindfold Chess Podcast
    • Third Place – $50 – Potential featured individual in Season 5 Episode 1 of the Blindfold Chess Podcast

    Dates

    • Scholarship Start Date: August 1st, 2026
    • Scholarship End Date: November 1st, 2026

    Eligibility Requirements

    • Must be between a Junior in High School (grade 10) up to a Junior (3rd year) at University as of August 1st, 2026.
      • This applies to both traditional and non-traditional students
    • FIDE Rating of at least 1600 at Scholarship End Date

    Entry Requirements

    • The Scholarship Committee would like to see your most Challenging tournament chess game within the last 3 years.
      • “Challenging” could be a win, loss, or a draw
      • “Challenging” could be tournament circumstance
      • “Challenging” could be game preparation or momentum changes during the game
      • or however you define “Challenging”
    • Please provide an annotated game containing:
      • diagrams and sub variations where applicable
      • your lessons learned and your growth as a chess player from that game/tournament
    • Grammar, spelling, and ease of understanding will factor into the judging
    • Submissions must be in English
    • All games/submissions will be looked at, but there is a preference for games between 20-30 moves to accommodate the standard podcast structure

    Accepted Formats

    • Word Document (.DOC, .DOCX)
    • Chessbase game (.CBV)
    • Portable Game Notation with annotations (.PGN)
    • NOT accepted format: Forsyth-Edwards Notation file formats (.FEN)

    Submissions

    • Please submit your annotated game to the 64 Square Chess Fund President – Cassidy Noble – noblecass@gmail.com
    • In your submission:
      • As a header, please include “Blindfold Chess Podcast Scholarship – YOUR NAME”
      • If you are in High School – please include your grade
      • If you are in College – please include your degree of pursuit
      • Please include the ratings of yourself and your opponent
      • Please provide tournament context for when/where the game took place 
      • Please provide your FIDE ID
      • Please provide desired pronouns (default will be they/them)
    • Late entries will not be accepted

    Winners

    The winner(s) will be showcased in the Season 5 Episode 1 episode of the Blindfold Chess Podcast 

    All submissions will be contacted no more than 3 weeks after the deadline to indicate if they won

    The winners will be sent their winnings via Paypal, Venmo, or check based on their placement and ease of distribution

    Completed Scholarships

    1st Annual – 64 Square Academic Scholarship

    Scholarship Amount

    • First Place – $200
    • Second Place – $100

    Dates

    • Scholarship Start Date: July 1st, 2025
    • Scholarship End Date: February 28th, 2026