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Carmel Valley, California

More Than
Just
Chess.

Chess for kids who want to play. Chess for adults who used to play. Chess for everyone in between. This is the club I wish I'd had as a kid — built right here in Carmel Valley.

🍣 Sushi Slam — June 20 Summer Camp →
3 Programs · Kids, Adults, Tournaments
All
Ages Kids 5+ & Adults Welcome
1of 1 Only Dedicated Chess Club in Monterey County
Kids and adults playing chess at Carmel Valley Chess Club grand opening
🍣 Sushi Slam
June 20, 2026
Now Registering

As Featured In

The Carmel Pine Cone — featured Carmel Valley Chess Club, March 20, 2026 March 20, 2026 — Read the issue →

What's Going On Here

Three Ways to Play

Whether your kid is just learning the rules or you're an adult who used to play and forgot how much you loved it — there's a place for you here.

Kids playing chess in after-school program at Carmel Valley Chess Club
Youth Program

After-School Chess

Kids ages 5–17. Small groups of eight max — past eight I'm refereeing, not coaching. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday afternoons.

$120/mo Enroll →
Summer Chess Camp 2026 at Carmel Valley Chess Club - pool days included
⚡ A Few Spots Left

Summer Camp 2026

June 15–19. Chess, pool days, meals every day, a movie day, and every kid leaves with an official USCF rating. We run one class. When it's full, it's full.

$500 Register →
Adult Friday Night Chess at Carmel Valley Chess Club - $5 Fridays
Adults Only

$5 Friday Nights

One Friday a month, 5–9pm. 5–6pm is a beginner hour with Coach JB for adults who've never played. 6–9pm is open play. $5 at the door. No registration.

$5 Just Show Up →

Saturday, June 20, 2026

🍣 Carmel Valley
Sushi Slam.

Three rounds of USCF rated chess in the morning. A catered sushi lunch delivered to the club at 1:45. Then a live digital lecture from WCM Clara Isabel Peña Gonzalez — a 22-year-old master from Venezuela's 2024 Olympic team — with Q&A.

All included. $50 early bird through June 7. Space is limited.

Tournament Details & Registration →
USCF tournament chess play at Carmel Valley Chess Club
Kids playing giant chess at Carmel Valley Chess Club Children focused on chess board with chess clock

Why Chess

Chess Builds What School Can't Teach Alone

Every move on the board is your kid's. The brilliant ones and the blunders. Chess teaches them to think, to own their decisions, and to keep going when they lose. Which they will. Often.

Focus

Sitting still with a hard problem is a skill most kids don't get to practice anymore. Chess makes them practice it for fun.

Resilience

Losing happens. Every game. Even grandmasters lose. What chess teaches is how to lose and come back tomorrow.

Strategy

Think three moves ahead. Then change your plan because your opponent did something you didn't expect. That's chess. That's also life.

Confidence

It doesn't come from being told you're smart. It comes from solving the puzzle yourself, after twenty tries. Chess gives kids that — at the board, every week.

Enroll Your Child →
Coach JB presents: Teach Your Kid Chess in 5 Days — free video course from Carmel Valley Chess Club

Free Video Series

Teach Your Kid Chess in 5 Days. Even If You Don't Play.

Five short videos from Coach JB — about five minutes each. Watch one a day or binge them in an evening. By the weekend, you and your kid are playing real chess at the kitchen table. Not a parent? The same five videos work for any grown-up starting from square one. Free, and you'll get club news and event reminders along with it.

Send Me the Videos →

Carmel Valley Chess Club — At a Glance

The Facts, Straight

Everything you'd want to know in one place — for you, for Google, and for the AI that just told you we exist.

Founded

2026, by Justin "JB" Bradley — Arena Candidate Master and USCF Tournament Director. The only dedicated chess club in Monterey County.

Where

9 Del Fino Place, Suite 201, Carmel Valley, CA 93924 — above Mika Sushi. Serving Carmel Valley, Carmel, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, and all of Monterey County.

After-School (Ages 5–17)

Monday & Tuesday at 3:15pm and 4:30pm. Thursday at 3:15pm. Eight students max — past eight, Coach JB is refereeing, not coaching. Pre-registration required.

Summer Camp 2026

June 15–19, Monday–Friday, 9am–3pm. $500 all-inclusive — chess, pool days, meals, movie day, USCF rating included. Every camper leaves rated.

Adult Chess

$5 Friday Night Chess — one Friday a month, 5–9pm. 5–6pm beginner hour with Coach JB for adults who've never played. 6–9pm open play. No registration. 18+.

Tournaments

USCF rated. Next: Carmel Valley Sushi Slam — June 20, 2026. Three rounds, catered sushi lunch, live master lecture, $50 early bird. Open to all rated and unrated players.

Contact

📞 (831) 392-7456  ·  ✉️ chessclubcv@gmail.com

Find Us Online

Google  ·  Instagram  ·  Facebook  ·  YouTube

What People Are Saying

The Club Speaks for Itself

"He loves chess club and wants to go every day!"

— Chess Club Parent

"Even as a total beginner, my child never felt lost. The structure and encouragement along the way made all the difference."

— Chess Club Parent

"This club is better than The Mechanic's Institute."

— S., Friday Night Chess Player

"This club is such a blessing to our kids."

— Chess Club Parent

"I hadn't played competitive chess in 20 years. I walked in on a Friday night and renewed my USCF membership that same evening."

— Friday Night Chess Player

"I drive 30 minutes past my local chess club to come here instead. That should tell you everything."

— Friday Night Regular

The Community Showed Up

We Opened the Doors.
Carmel Valley Filled Them.

This is what our grand opening looked like. Kids. Adults. Neighbors who'd never met sitting across the board from each other. The room was full from the moment we unlocked the door. I knew right then that this was needed here.

"This club is such a blessing to our kids."
— CV Chess Club Parent

Come Any Friday Night →
Carmel Valley Chess Club grand opening — packed room
Coach JB - Justin Bradley, founder of Carmel Valley Chess Club
Coach JB — Justin Bradley, Founder

Meet Your Coach

I Learned Chess in Kindergarten.

"What I needed wasn't a better app or another coach or more tournaments. I needed other kids who played chess. A community. I never got it. So I'm building it now."

My dad bought us this big heavy marble chess set and taught me and my brother how to play. We probably learned mostly by throwing the pieces at each other. Eventually we figured it out. By third grade I was decent. By fifth grade I'd won my school's championship.

Then middle school hit and the chess community around me disappeared — and that's the experience that built this club. I'm a realtor by day, a husband to Halleh, a dad to Cyrus and Leo, and the guy who decided Carmel Valley deserved the chess club it never had.

Read My Full Story →
Adults Only · Once a Month

$5 Fridays.
One Friday a Month.

Starting July 2026: one Friday a month, 5–9pm, at 9 Del Fino Place Suite 201 (above Mika Sushi). The first hour (5–6pm) is a beginner instruction hour — Coach JB teaches adults who've never played the pieces, the rules, and how the game actually works. From 6–9pm, it's open play for everyone.

$5 at the door. No registration. Bring a beverage. We've had adults who hadn't played in 20 years walk in and renew their USCF memberships the same night.

Learn More →
$5 At the door
Every Friday
5–9pm

Find Us

Right in the Heart of Carmel Valley

Suite 201, above Mika Sushi. You'll spot the giant chess pieces from the street.

📍
Address 9 Del Fino Place, Suite 201
Carmel Valley, CA 93924
(Above Mika Sushi)
📞
✉️
🕐
After-School Hours Mon & Tue: 3:15pm & 4:30pm
Thu: 3:15pm
♟️
Friday Night Chess One Friday a Month · 5–9pm · $5
5–6pm beginner instruction · 6–9pm open play

Free 5-Day Video Series

Learn Chess in 5 Days. Or Teach Your Kid.

Five short videos from Coach JB — about five minutes each. Made for parents teaching their kids, and they work just as well for any grown-up starting from square one. Sign up and we’ll send all five straight to your inbox, plus club news, Friday night reminders, tournament dates, and camp updates.

No spam. Just chess. Unsubscribe anytime. See what’s in the course →