The North American Corporate Chess League (NACCL) is preparing for its 13th season and will be broadcasted on Chess.com. The NACCL is the largest corporate chess competition in the world and includes some of the world’s best-known companies and small businesses! Gather your friends from work and compete in the league designed for working professionals, and get your company’s name and logo on the next league’s winner announcement!
What Is The NACCL?
The NACCL has more than a decade-long history as the largest corporate chess league in the world. The league is open to all (non-chess) companies located in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Members represent their companies and compete from the comfort of their home or office. Competitors also benefit from a fun, free weekly lecture led by GM Kayden Troff and IM Gauri Shankar.
Format
The upcoming season begins on April 16 and features six weeks of competition, culminating in a playoff on May 28. Each match features teams playing three rapid games (10+2), starting at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursdays.Â
Matches are designed using a custom pairing system in an open section that considers rating, points scored, and team. Players from the same company will not play each other. Team scores are calculated by combining the top four scorers from the same company. Tiebreakers are scores of the #5, #6, #7, and #8 players in order, and then the sum of the individual tiebreakers of the top four players. The top eight teams at the end of the regular season advance to a one-day knockout tournament, the winner of which is the league champion! That match will be covered live on the Chess.com Twitch channel. Past winners include Jane Street, Capital One, Google, Deloitte, Susquehanna, and the defending champions, Symetra.
Capital One won an exciting final match last season against team Meta, securing their second title since the league’s inception. IM Craig Hilby led the team on board one, along with Maury Ahram, Alex Cook, Marco Flores, and Haider Munir on the tiebreak board. Check out this impressive game by Hilby in the knockout stage.
Prizes
There are prizes for many of the league’s most accomplished teams and individuals.Â
Team Prizes
- The top eight teams overall
- Top two small companies (under 500 employees)
- Top technology company
- Top insurance company
- Top real estate company
- Top HR firm
- Top non-profit organization
- Top bank/financial firm
Individual Prizes
- Top-ten Individuals
- Top-three rated 2000-2199
- Top-three rated 1800-1999
- Top-three rated 1600-1799
- Top-three rated 1400-1599
- Top-three rated 1200-1399
- Top-three rated 1000-1199
- Top-three under 1000
How To Register
Registration is open now! Check out the NACCL website to join the league. You can register a team or join your company’s team that’s already in the league. The only restriction is that companies must be headquartered in North America and not be a chess-related business. No prior club membership or rating is necessary to register. If you’re interested, but not from North America, let us know, and we may have a league available for your company soon! For updates on the league, join the NACCL club on Chess.com and follow the NACCL on LinkedIn.
Registered players will be upgraded to a 60-day diamond membership on Chess.com for the season. Sign up to join players from beginners through grandmasters and teams like Meta, Airbnb, Capital One, and more!Â
Will you be competing? Let us know in the comments!