# United States Armed Forces Chess Championship

The United States Armed Forces Chess Championship is a chess tournament held annually since 1960.

## U.S. Armed Forces Chess Championship

The first U.S. Armed Forces Chess Championship (USAFCC) was held in 1960, and continued uninterrupted through 1993. After 1993, the support of the U.S. Department of Defense was withdrawn. From 1994 through 2001, the American Chess Foundation and the U.S. Chess Center collaborated to host an open Swiss replacement event, the U.S. Armed Forces Open Chess Championship (USAFOCC).
When the Department of Defense resumed support of chess in 2001 with the Inter-Service Chess Championship, the military committee of US Chess took over the open Swiss which continues to be held each year as the U.S. Armed Forces Chess Championship.

### Most frequent champions

IM Emory Tate won the Armed Forces Chess Championship five times in 1983, 1984, and three times in a row in 1987 through 1989. Robert Keough has also won five times in 1999, 2000, 2009; 2008 (tied), and 2013.
In 2018, Larry Larkins won his sixth Armed Forces Chess Championship.

### Tournament champions since 1960

    #YearWinnerNotes 11960Air Force Captain John Hudson and Army SP4 Arthur Feuerstein tied for 1st place.The first U.S. Armed Forces Chess Championship (USAFCC) was held at the American Legion Hall of Flags in Washington, D.C. There were 12 invited participants. Feuerstein was four times New York state champion. Hudson was a bombardier-navigator on B-52 bombers and a former US Amateur champion. 21961Captain John HudsonThe tournament was sponsored by the US Chess Federation, the American Chess Foundation, and the USO. 31962SP4 Roy Mallett 41963Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Irwin LyonThis was the first year that the Coast Guard was represented in this annual event. 51964Air Force 1st Lieutenant Donato Rivera de JesusHe played for Puerto Rico in the Varna Chess Olympiad in 1962. 61965Air Force Airman David Lees (1943-1996)He also won the Texas State Championship in 1965. The event was held at the American Legion's Hall of Flags in Washington, D.C. 71966Army SP4 Chester Wozney 81967Army SP4 Michael SenkiewiczHe was also a world class Scrabble player, backgammon player, and poker player. He played for the British Virgin Islands in the 1988 chess Olympiad, scoring 9 out of 12. He was once ranked 35th in the nation in chess. 91968Army Private First Class Charles "Charlie" Powell (1944-1991)He was 7-time Virginia champion and beat Bobby Fischer in a simul. 101969Army PFC Steven Hohensee 111970Air Force Major John Hudson 121971Air Force 1st Lieutenant Brendan GodfreyNow Dr. Godfrey is Director of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. 131972Coast Guard Lieutenant Zaccarias ChavezHe appeared on the front cover of the December 1972 issue of Chess Life & Review. 141973Air Force Sergeant Don SutherlandHe won the California State Chess Championship in 1965 and Colorado Championship in 1973. 151974Air Force Sergeant Richard Bustamante 161975Air Force Sergeant Charles Unruh 171976Army E4 Russell Garber 181977Air Force Captain Robert Bond 191978Air Force Captain Robert BondThe event was held at the American Legion Hall of Flags in Washington, D.C. The event was sponsored by the American Chess Foundation. 201979Army SP4 Michael FletcherHe is a national master. 211980Army SP4 Michael Fletcher 221981Airman 1st Class Timothy BrownHe won the Arizona championship in 1976. 231982Air Force Sergeant Timothy Brown 241983Air Force Senior Airman Emory Tate, Jr. 251984Air Force Sergeant Emory Tate 261985Army SP4 Roberto Rodriquez 271986Army Private Richard Russell 281987Air Force Staff Sergeant Emory Tate 291988Air Force Staff Sergeant Emory Tate 301989Air Force Staff Sergeant Emory Tate 311990Mario Murillo (Navy) 321991Mario Murillo (Navy) 331992Donato Lacno (Navy) 341993Air Force Sergeant Elvin Wilson 351994Robert Holling (Navy) 361995John Hanson and Brian Richardson tied for 1st 371996Army Captain David Hater 381997Army Major David Hater and Dwaine Roberts (Marines Corps) tied for 1st 391998Air Force Sergeant Elvin Wilson and Air Force Sergeant Peter Kurucz ties for 1st 401999Air Force Sergeant Robert Keough 412000Air Force Sergeant Robert Keough 422001Sgt Rudy Tia and Joseph Kruml tied for 1stThe tournament was held at Ft. Meyer. 432002Sgt Rudy TiaThe event took place in San Diego, CA. 442003Air Force Sergeant Leroy HillThe tournament was held at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas. 452004Narcisco Victoria and West Point Cadet David Jacobs tied for first 462005West Point Cadet David JacobsThe tournament was held in Arlington, Virginia. 472006West Point Cadet David JacobsThe tournament was held at the US Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, DC. Retired USAF Lt. General William Earl Brown, a chessplayer who was in one of the Tuskegee Airman graduating classes in the late 1940s, was a special guest and speaker. 482007Navy retiree Larry LarkinsThe tournament was held in Arlington, VA from October 6-8. 492008Larkins, Taffinder, Keough, Pabalan, and Szpisjak tied for firstThe tournament was held in Bethesda, MA. 502009USAF TSgt Robert KeoughThe tournament was held at Gettysburg, PA. 532012Dan Ranario (2128)The tournament was held on board the USS Wasp in Norfolk, Virginia. This was the first time the event was held on a ship. 542013Dan Ranario, Robert Keough, Gordon Randall, and Jon Middaugh tied for firstThe tournament was held at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis, Virginia. 552014US Army Nicholas OblakThe tournament was held at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. 562015Navy retiree Larry LarkinsThe tournament was held at Fort Belvoir, Virginia USO Center from October 10-12. 572016Navy retiree Larry LarkinsThe tournament was held at US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD. 582017Leroy Hill, Jr. (USAF, Retired)The tournament was hosted at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and sponsored by the US Chess Trust and US Chess president, Mike Hoffpauir, a former US Army brigade commander. Hill also won the Inter-Service Championship in 2003. 592018Navy retiree Larry LarkinsLarry Larkins won on tiebreaks. The tournament was held at Joint Base Andrews, MD. 602019Air Force 1st Lieutenant and National Master Eigen WangThe tournament was held at Camp Lejeune, NC. 612020Navy Second Class Petty Officer Andrew PerainoThe tournament was held in Virginia Beach, VA. 622021Airman 1st Class Charles UnruhUnruh won the tournament in Grapevine, Texas, October 8-11, 2021. 632022U.S. Military Academy Cadet Addison LeeLee won the tournament on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ, October 8-10, 2022.

## Inter-Service Chess Championship

In 2001, the U.S. Department of Defense resumed support of chess in the US military and the US Armed Forces Chess Championship (USAFCC) was renamed the U.S. Inter-Service Chess Championship (ISCC).