Great Rivers Council Offers All Missouri BSA Members ChessKid Memberships!

Chess became an official BSA merit badge back in 2011, but this month marks the beginning of the first-ever statewide initiative to get more scouts playing on ChessKid.

Thanks to the stewardship of the Great Rivers Council in Columbia, Missouri and the generous funding by the Saint Louis Chess Club, all scouts in any of the state's six districts can now sign up for a free gold membership to the site.

Jeanne Sinquefield

Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield is one of the co-founders of the Saint Louis Chess Club and also spearheaded the charge to make chess a BSA merit badge nearly a decade ago. Photo: Austin Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Once many scouts have registered their accounts, Great Rivers Council will eventually be hosting statewide tournaments and events using the ChessKid live tournament function. 

Using the site will also greatly help any scout in their requirements to earn the chess merit badge. As you can see from this helpful article on ChessKid, the chess knowledge is deep but ChessKid's tools will easily cover nearly all of the required topics. In addition, to earn the merit badge, a scout must compete in at least one tournament, so the ones created by Great Rivers Council for all Missourians will count toward that point.

Kayden Troff

GM Kayden Troff, seen here at a 2016 event that opened concrete chess tables in Forest Park in St. Louis, is the only grandmaster to also become an Eagle Scout, the highest honor in scouting. Photo: Austin Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

"Chess teaches scouts about problem-solving, creativity, and patience," said Thomas Yang of Great Rivers Council. "It is a great confidence-building tool. These are all traits that scouting tries to instill in America’s young men and women. We are excited to announce our partnership with ChessKid to help promote chess in our scouts."

If your child is a scout in Missouri, click here to be a part of the fun on ChessKid!

Boy Scouts Chess

Boy Scouts of America also publishes this helpful guide on obtaining the chess merit badge.