Coach Jake | NH Chess Club

Howard Johnson United Chess Tournament, Portland, Maine, February 2023

I am the owner of

the New Hampshire Chess Club, LLC.

Biography and Creation of the New Hampshire Chess Club LLC

In 2015,, I graduated from the amazing Portsmouth Christian Academy. I am beyond grateful for my growth spiritually,, mentally,, and emotionally from this school. After I had graduated,, I attended a semester at Great Bay Community College. I realized that I required more life experience before attending college, and spent the next year traveling in Thailand, Cambodia,, Vietnam,, and Nepal. Upon returning home to the United States in 2017,, I attended the University of Wyoming and began my next adventure.

I graduated in 2020 amidst Covid with a Major in Religious Studies and a Minor in the Honors Program. Whilst in college and travelling,, I fell in love with the game of chess and knew this would become a lifelong passion.

Upon returning home to Newmarket, New Hampshire, I realized that there wasn't a big chess community. As I was working in management of a TD Bank branch, I realized that I needed to change this. I created the New Hampshire Chess Club LLC in December 2022 and set out to bring chess to New Hampshire. Having started playing chess at the age of 20, I realized my hopes of becoming a grandmaster were non-existent. However, having had leadership and management experience, I realized that I could still inspire others to dive into the breathtaking depths of the game of chess. I began teaching chess at Strafford County Department of Corrections in Dover in January 2023, and absolutely loved it. With this, I reached out to a non-profit organization known as The Gift of Chess. In partnership, I started a chess club at the Howard Johnson Hotel in South Portland, Maine in January 2023 for refugees and asylum seekers.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam,2017

Tengboche, Nepal, May 2017

Howard Johnson Invitational Tournament, Portland, Maine, April 2023

Since January, we have started several chess programs for refugees in Portland, Maine at locations such as the Howard Johnson Hotel, Root Cellar, Portland Expo Center (during asylum seeker housing period of March & July 2023) YMCA,, East End Community School,, and Baxter Academy. We have run 12 USCF--rated tournaments and 5-unofficial invitational tournaments to continue helping our kids grow their game and have access to educational tools and experiences.

These stories have been featured in the Portland Press Herald and WGME: (click on images below)

Having felt my calling, I resigned from my position at TD Bank in May 2023 and began working full time for the New Hampshire Chess Club and the Gift of Chess as an Ambassador and Advisor. I have represented the Gift of Chess in fundraising events and conferences around the United States. These events include, The FIDE Chess for Freedom" Conference in Chicago,, IL.,, the CEA (Correctional Education Association) conference in Portland,, Oregon (In Partnership with edovo), and the Gift of Chess-Morgan Stanley fundraiser.

Morgan Stanley - Gift of Chess Fundraiser, New York City, May 2023

As for the New Hampshire Chess Club,, we had begun our ChessKidz program at the Newmarket Recreation Center and Portsmouth Christian Academy in the spring of 2023. The New Hampshire Chess club is looking to expand to several more schools,, community centers, and Department of Corrections in 2024. The New Hampshire Chess Club will also be hosting a multitude of over-the--board and online USCF-rated tournaments across New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts in 2024.

In 2023,, I was blessed to help facilitate the distribution of over 75,,000 chess sets globally with the Gift of Chess,, run over 10 chess programs,, direct over 15 USCF--rated chess tournaments,, and teach over 300 students. I am not a chess master,, but my mission is to spread chess across New Hampshire,, New England,, and the rest of the world. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I look forward to hearing from you!!

Jacob Holden
Owner
NH Chess Club, LLC.