New Mexico Chess Organization

We have a ton of chess coming up soon! Look at the schedule of upcoming events for chess in New Mexico:

New Mexico Chess Organization Events:​

- 2026 K-12 State Championship, April 25th!​​​
- 2026 NM Rapid & Blitz State Championship, June 20th!
- Four Corners Open in Farmington, July 11-12th!
- 2026 NM Team Championship, July 25th!
- 2027 K-12 State Championship, September 12th!
- 2026 New Mexico Open, September 26-27th!
- 2026 New Mexico State Championship in Santa Fe, November 14-15th!
- 2027 All-Girls Scholastic Championship, November 21st!

More events from clubs around the state:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

- Southern New Mexico Abyss Open in Las Cruces, March 21st!
- Cruces Chess Club March Scholastic in Las Cruces, March 22nd!
- Santa Fe Blitz in Santa Fe, March 22nd!
- Variants with Kevin in Albuquerque, March 28th!
- Camino Real Open Blitz Tournament in Las Cruces, March 28th!
- Monday Swiss in Santa Fe, April 6th!
- The Berba Invitational in Las Cruces, April 11th!
- April G60 in Albuquerque, April 18th!
- April Scholastic G30 in Albuquerque, April 18th!
- Albuquerque/Rio Rancho Open in Albuquerque, May 2nd-3rd!
- AIMS Open in Albuquerque, June 6th-7th!
- Emiliano "Mike" Perea Memorial, October 24-25th!

With more events to come from our club affiliates around the state!

Find more information at https://www.kingregistration.com/tournaments/state/NM

or www.newmexicochess.org

Home | New Mexico Chess Organization The New Mexico Chess Organization is the official US Chess Federation State Chapter. Find information on State Championship Tournaments, Chess Clubs, and Club Tournaments in New Mexico.

This coming weekend is the 2026 New Mexico Chess All-Girls Scholastic State Championship. All girls in grades K-12 are eligible to play and the winner will be invited to represent the state of New Mexico at the 2026 Haring All-Girls National Tournament of Champions in Grand Rapids, MI! Awards will be presented for top elementary, middle school, and high school girls.

Register at: https://www.kingregistration.com/event/NMAllGirls2026

For more information about tournaments in New Mexico, please visit www.newmexicochess.org

It is with a heavy heart that we are sharing the passing of one of our players. Our 2026 Senior Champion William Barefield passed away last night. We share our condolences for his family and friends at this difficult time.

Santa Fe Chess has an upcoming event that they want to share. More information can be found below.

Sunday, February 22nd
Head-to-head matches, G75+10
$20 entry fee

For more information about chess events in New Mexico, please visit www.newmexicochess.org

Congratulations to the winners of our first 2026 event and congratulations to our 2026 New Mexico Chess Senior Champion:

Senior Championship (Irwin Qualifier):

1st place - William Barefield (will represent New Mexico at the Irwin Tournament of Senior Champions)
2nd place (tie) - Ramzi Hammad & David Langlois
Bottom Half - Gracelyn Yarborough

Championship 1600+:

1st place - Mateo Lucero
2nd place - Brad Langer
U1900 - Paul Padilla

U1800:

1st place (tie): Jordan Ogas, Chuck Parker & Aadit Balwan

U1000:

1st place: Akhil Ayyagari
2nd place: Jeff Foreman & Esteban Njus
U500: Aidan Bosler & Manish Midthana

Congratulations to our winners and for more information on upcoming chess tournaments in New Mexico, please visit: www.newmexicochess.org

We will be reviewing our policy on possessing copies of "How to Win at Chess" by Levy Rozman at our 2026 Rapid & Blitz State Championship to better match the policies of the 2026 Speed Chess Championship. This should improve the quality of our event for our players.

This coming weekend is the 2026 Senior Championship and Tony Schroeder Memorial Open!

More information can be found below and registration link is:

www.kingregistration.com/event/NMSenior26

Good afternoon New Mexico Chess players!

This weekend was the 2025 Annual Membership Meeting. There were 5 motions that were passed and election of officers for the upcoming 1 or 2 year terms! Find more information below.

Motion 2025-1 - Reducing the voting age requirement for members in good standing to match the US Chess minimum voting age. This is currently 16 years old. Members who are 16 years of age as of the meeting next year will be able to vote.

Motion 2025-2 - Added Chief Tournament Directing as an alternative to paying a tournament entry fee to meet our member in good standing requirements.

Motion 2025-3 - Added a new class of voter for parents of scholastic players. One parent/legal guardian may vote on behalf of their children under 16. Only one vote is allowed for a parent.

Motion 2025-4 - Extended the term length of elected members to two years. The President and Treasurer will have the first two year term. Secretary and Vice-President will be elected again next year to begin their two year terms.

Motion 2025-5 - Proofreading and punctuation changes in constitution

Elected Board Members for 2026-2027
President - Daniel Serna
Treasurer - Kaitlyn Klein-Sutton

Elected Board Members for 2026
Vice-President - Steve Perea
Secretary - Kevin Zemko

Congratulations and we look forward to 2026!

In addition, anyone who is interested in an appointed board member position listed below should contact any board member or email [email protected]. We will look to fill out those appointment positions in the upcoming month.

Appointed Board Member Positions Available for 2026:

- Tournament Organizer
- Scholastic Director
- Desert Knight Editor
- Social Media Director/Webmaster
- Member-at-Large

Send a message to learn more

This coming weekend is our 2025 New Mexico Chess State Championship! The Championship section is restricted to New Mexico residents, but all other sections are available for all chess players. Please find more information below and registration can be done at https://www.kingregistration.com/event/NMState2025

For more information about New Mexico Chess, please visit our website at www.newmexicochess.org

For information regarding our 2025 annual membership meeting. This can be found on the front page of our website. Any questions can be sent to [email protected].

Good luck and we'll see you in Las Cruces!