History of Chess in Indiana

The existence of chess clubs in Indiana goes far back. Clubs are known to have existed in Evansville (EDJ-12-01-1858, EDJ-12-04-1858) and Vincennes (EDJ-11-23-1858) as early as 1858, and in Richmond (RP-07-14-1859) and Indianapolis (DSS-05-16-1859) as early as 1859. The Evansville and Vincennes clubs probably played a match by telegraph in 1859 (EDJ-01-10-1859, EDJ-01-15-1859). These clubs were inspired by the rise of American player Paul Morphy, similar to how the rise of Bobby Fischer would create a new renaissance of chess in the United States over a century later.

A chess club was founded at Hurty’s Drug Store in Indianapolis in 1885 (IJ-08-29-1885, IJ-09-01-1885).

Statewide organized chess in Indiana had its start in 1885, when Dr. Thomas Franklin Leech of Waveland, IN sent out a notice in the Indianapolis Journal to the chess players of Indiana, for the purpose of creating the Indiana State Chess Association (11-30-1885). The very first tournament occurred in December that year, which was won, according to local newspapers, by Dr. Leech.

In subsequent years, various summer meetings and tournaments occurred, and identifying a tournament as a state championship is somewhat difficult. See the list of state champions for an approximate history of this time period.

The earliest known game records come from a tournament held at the Hotel English in Indianapolis in 1888. These records were published in the Indianapolis Journal, December 29, 1888.

This particular tournament was won by W.H. Ripley, and close behind him in second was Dr. Thomas F. Leech. The newspaper indicates that these two would go on to play a 3-game match to decide Indiana’s representative at the national tournament.

Fortunately for us, four games from this 1888 event were published in the newspaper article:

The years 1893–1941 are not yet well-researched. It is known that the Western Open, a predecessor to the U.S. Open, was held in South Bend in 1928.

The modern Indiana State Chess Association was founded in 1942 by Glen Donley, of Logansport, Fred Flauding, of Portland, and Dale Rhead, of Gary.

With the exception of 1988, official championships have been held yearly since 1942. Two championships were held in 1990 to make up for the lost championship in 1988.

In 1994, the organization was incorporated as a 501(c)(7) non-profit. The association is the official state affiliate of the United States Chess Federation.