The US Amateur Team West Championship is one of the most enjoyable California chess traditions. A team event, the US Amateur Team West attracts all the usual faces and their friends to compete in a weekend long celebration of chess. Each year there is also a USATW Scholastic Tournament. As a chess coach, Editor for the CalChess Journal and the Scholastic Coordinators for CalChess, I never miss this opportunity to hang out with the scholastic chess community of Northern California.
This year I would have been enjoying my weekend at the US Amateur Team West Championship, but I was forced to cancel the engagement due to bronchitis. Fortunately, I was able to locate a substitute: Lauren Goodkind, who was attending the event to coach her students agreed to take chess photos of this historic California chess tournament.
Lauren Goodkind is no stranger to the Daily Chess Musings community and even runs a weekly tournament for the Daily Chess Musings Club on Chess.com! Of course she is also one of the most popular chess coaches Northern California so it made perfect sense for her to document the 2023 US Amateur Team West Scholastic Chess Tournament.
Please enjoy Lauren’s photos from the US Amateur Team West Championship Scholastic Chess Tournament and remember to look for her article on the event in the next issue of The CalChess Journal.
Click through the slide show to see all the pictures.
