Hello all, I am at a bit of a juncture in my life, and I’m considering a new career. I have always thought about trying to make a living running a chess club. I have run clubs on a volunteer basis in the past, and I’m a National Master and a TD. I also have alot of other skills that are applicable. E.g. I am good with web design, social media, graphics, and IT.
I know there are a number of people here who organize a chess club and associated local events professionally. I was wondering how feasible it is. In the long term, if one is persistent and good, can one expect to make a living this way?
Some context - I have some capital I could use to get started. I am also likely going to be moving, so I would consider any location where there is opportunity.
I imagine organizing regular weekly and monthly tournaments (Friday Night Action, once a week FIDE rated, scholastic night, First Saturday GP, etc.), a couple of large regional tournaments a year, and then organizing lectures, viewing parties for stuff like Carlsen v Anand, and teaching after school programs and privates.
Any suggestions, thoughts, or stories of success and failure are welcome.
Thanks for the reply, Nolan. I do realize that. I would still like to know if it is possible for a person - if we can separate the question from myself - to make a living running a club.
you probably would do well to reach out to people who have done it full time.
The one name around the NY Metro area is Arthur Mascapac, also a NM who runs Chessmates. I think the model, if it works (and I don’t know how profitable he is) really revolves around making only a modest amount on tournaments on the weekends (but hosting 2 on saturday and at least 1 on sunday, but really makes money running after school sessions on wednesday and friday and the tournaments that follow
(author’s note, i have never set foot in there, it was closed when i visited once, but through the window i could see a game score, the opening moves were: 1. f3 a5 2. g3 and you get the idea from there…)
One of the challenges of the model is that you are paying rent for the place, (i’m guessing this guy is paying 1-2k a month easily), where many people who run TD’s and give lessons leverage existing buildings. I was in the tampa club a while back, and the local NM there was giving lessons, i don’t think he was paying for the rent…
THe tournaments in a way serve as almost free advertising for the real money making opportunities of the summer camps and whatnot. It’s probably a modestly viable business, but you will need lots of connections in the community you choose to open, and a general acceptance that the location is not already overcrowded but also has a critical mass of players. Lastly you will want to be very good at marketing, both to the existing base as well as non USCF members. I think this is probably the single biggest objective.
Thanks for the many insights, dmn10. I do have a couple of people I am trying to get in touch with. I think your insights are largely in line with my thoughts.
You bring up an interesting point about rent challenges. I agree. It seems most clubs leverage free or cheap spaces that are available (libraries, churches, bookstores, community centers…), some rent a stable location, and a very few own their space. I would think that if it was possible to buy a space, one would have a much better chance of success in the long term (assuming all else equal). Intuitively, I would draw a comparison to dance studios where some leverage, some rent, and some own, but the most successful ones are always the owners. The rarity of chess clubs owning their spaces makes me think I am missing something. Perhaps, the problem is that dance studios are able to rent out unoccupied nights, and no one wants to rent a chess club…
The primary cause of small business failures is a lack of capital. Spending capital on buying a site reduces the money available to cover the losses during business startup. Renting may cost more in the long run but you have to survive the first few years before you can worry about the long run.
Mike Regan
Mr. Copeland - perhaps the best club I can think of, offhand, that might offer a good model for what you’re looking to do is the Dayton Chess Club. When I took my son to a tournament there, Riley and Sharon Driver were very generous with their time, and talked openly about the challenges and opportunities involved in running the club. Before meeting them, I would have guessed that you needed to have such a club in a major DMA - but the Drivers have proven that guess wrong.
I have been told by sources I consider reputable that the North Shore Chess Center is a very good club (I’ve not been there personally). I don’t believe Sevan Muradian makes his living from it, but I can’t imagine it’s a huge money pit, and it’s been running for a while. He might have some valuable insights.
More full-time chess clubs cannot be a bad thing. I wish you the best.
IMO you would do FAR better to consider running after school chess clubs at several schools and Scholastic tournaments at a friendly school or Library,
In its heyday, the Atlanta Chess & Games Center was in existence for at least 20 years, and Thad Rogers and his fine staff,
ran the daily operations and was turning a profit, but the location near a closed steel mill eventually spelled doom for that
location.
I am thinking of something similar to maybe get a virtual chess store in a resort type of setting where golf, tennis during the
warmer months, and skiing and snowboarding during the Winter months could be worked in, and determine if the rent and
brick and mortar could be worked in as long as creating foot traffic and additional business for the resort. The idea would be
to create alternative activities for the resort in case of inclement weather (rain during the warmer months) would keep activities
indoors. Maybe charge "table rent’ similar to golf’s “green fees”, and sell chess accessories could bring additional revenues as
well. Providing chess instruction and perhaps other games for all types of resort clientele could be an option.
As I say, it is additional “Food for Thought” as a way of alleviating the typical brick and mortar expense that typifies start up
chess clubs.
@eastside, very interesting. I was wondering about the size city that would be needed to support a club. Intuitively, I also thought a major MA would be essential, but I suppose even a moderate US city is quite a large market, with hundreds of thousands of persons and dozens of schools. Also, I sometimes play in Ohio, perhaps I can make a tournament at the Dayton chess club soon.
When I went a decade ago, the location was 4 blocks from the Farmers Market with an excellent café: is it not still there? Also Thad ran his frequent tournaments at this location.
I’m getting in late on this thread, but I’ll throw in some thoughts as a >20 year business owner who has also run a chess club for 7 years.
First, you need to define what, for you, would constitute making a living.
Second, you need to realize that your business will need to make more than that amount in order to pay you that living wage. It will have to pay the “company” part of FICA, the cost of benefits (health insurance, retirement plans, etc.). It will also need money for facilities (meeting site, tables and chairs, chess books, etc.). You may also need to carry insurance of various types (liability, property). Some of these may be one-time (i.e., startup) expenses, while others may be ongoing. Your business will need to take in enough (in addition to your salary) to cover the ongoing expenses and to gradually pay off the one-time expenses.
Next, you need to consider how much your club can reasonably expect to take in. What programs would you offer? How many times a year could you realistically offer each of these programs? How many participants could you realistically expect for each offering? How much would participants be willing to pay? Would there be specific expenses associated with each program (advertising, tournament prizes and rating expenses, etc.)
Ultimately, you need to total up the numbers. Would the total revenues you could realistically hope to take in for all of the programs you plan to offer in a year exceed your total expenses by enough to provide you with a living wage?
