Think three moves ahead.
John Hay's chess team. Every level welcome, total beginner to tournament board one. It costs nothing.
2:30 · Room 381 · day announced one week after school starts
Pull up a chairPlay. Solve puzzles. Travel to real tournaments with a team that wants you at the board.
Pattern recognition, calm under a clock, and a handshake habit. Members often say the board is where they learned to slow down and look again.
Nothing. The district covers practices, tournaments, and travel. Your only job is showing up.
What a practice looks like
- 01Walk in
The door is open at 2:30, every level, no tryout.
- 02Learn
A teammate or coach walks you through one idea that wins games.
- 03Play
Real boards, real clocks. Blitz for fun, slow games for growth.
- 04Shake hands
Win or lose, you leave knowing one more thing than you came with.
Most people show up to their first practice not knowing anyone. Give it three weeks and you will have a regular opponent.
You
Chess asks for the habits this pathway runs on: seeing patterns, planning ahead, staying calm when the clock is running. Members often say the board taught them how to take a test.
John Hay
The team carries the school's name into every league match in the city. Green and gold at the board.
Cleveland
We play in the Greater Cleveland Scholastic Chess League with schools across the city, and scholastic chess gives Cleveland kids a free, serious place to compete. When we travel, we represent more than a school.
Careers
Where this points
The skills you practice here are the same ones these jobs run on. Every card carries pay and outlook read straight from O*NET, the US Department of Labor's occupation site, the schools that train for it, and an honest read on what AI is likely to change.
- Diagnostic Radiologist
- Anesthesiologist
Inside Chess
Explore & practice
Learn a small, solid set of openings you actually understand. Start with principles, then build a repertoire you can repeat.
Develop your pieces, control the center, and get your king safe. The first ten moves decide most school games.
Tactics win games. Drill patterns until you see them instantly, then learn to make a plan.
Small advantages decide everything when the board empties out. Master the basic checkmates and king-and-pawn endings first.
Follow the top players and tournaments. Watching real games is one of the fastest ways to improve.
Chess calendar
When we meet
Year at a glance
Community boards
- • Celebrate specifically. Shoutouts name the win, not just the person.
- • Ask anything. No question is too basic, and families are welcome.
- • Protect privacy. First names and last initials only. Never post a phone number, address, grade, or health detail.
Every post is reviewed by Mr. Mendoza before it appears.
No bulletin posts yet. Be the first! 📌
Members and families only. Your post shows just your first name and last initial.
Vetted resources
Local nonprofit running scholastic chess across NE Ohio.
Greater Cleveland Scholastic Chess LeagueThe monthly rated league John Hay plays in.
Ohio Chess AssociationOhio's USCF affiliate; statewide events and ratings.
Ohio State Scholastic ChampionshipsQualifier path to national scholastic events.
US Chess: ScholasticNational governing body's scholastic hub.
Upcoming Ohio tournamentsLive calendar of rated Ohio events.
Questions families ask
Everyone does. Losing to a stronger player with a clock running is the fastest chess lesson there is, and nobody on this team will make you feel small for it.
No. Practices, tournaments, and travel are covered by the district. Just show up.
Each trip gets a bulletin post with the date, departure time, and a permission slip. Slip first, bus second: no signed form, no seat. The district covers the cost.
Yes. Open practice in Room 381 is for every level, and teammates teach the basics.
The door is open at 2:30. Bring nothing but yourself.
2:30 · Room 381 · day announced one week after school starts
Drop your Chess submission in the OneDrive folder, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count. Sign in with your Microsoft (district) account, not a personal one. Nothing is turned in on Schoology: that is where the report-card grade shows up later.
Name the file exactly like this, with two underscores between the name and the title:
Lastname_Firstname__Assignment Title.pdfTwo underscores between the name and the title. Do not put your student ID in the file name: your district sign-in already tells me it is you. A file named any other way is not lost. It waits in a review folder until it is sorted by hand, so it is graded later.
Your receipt. Your own upload panel says Uploaded, with a green check beside the file name. That is your receipt. Screenshot it if you want a record of your own. Do not wait for the file to appear in a list. You should not be able to see anyone else's work in there. If you can see other students' files, stop and tell Mr. Mendoza.
Open the OneDrive drop