Chess Palace

This is a family run operation, and you could see the pride and care in the way they do business. We were there for a multi-​hour tournament and met many new families and immediately felt welcomed by this chess community. The owner has great people skills and from talking with the other families there, great teaching skills as well – especially in mentoring children and getting them excited about the challenges abundant in chess. If there is one weakness here, it would be that the management is so busy working with his students that one needs to be persistent in contacting them. Otherwise, they are professional and obviously have garnered the respect of the local players, children and adults.

Very friendly crowd of chess enthusiasts. Full of books, boards, pieces, timers, and movies to help any chess lover. They also have weekly tournaments and lots of them, typically about 3 or 4 per week. You can subscribe to Chess Life magazine, find out about other tournaments in the area, take lessons, or play USCF rated games here.

I was looking for a good relaxing place to play chess, meet people that likes the game and also play some official tournaments, that’s when I found Chess Palace!
— They are a family run chess club and are friendly, nice people that loves chess although none of them are Expert/​Master level players.
— They have an annual membership of $ 170 which I think is quite affordable! If you become a member you get an Id and a free T-​shirt!
— A nice collection of chess books, chess sets and other inventory. You get a 10% off if you are a regular member!
— You will find a variety of players of different playing strengths from 1000 ish beginner to upper master 2400 level and also players of different age groups from 7 year old kids to 70 year old retirees.
— Tournaments are held frequently and they usually have rapid tournaments on friday nights and a month long classical tournament held every wednesday night, which is my favorite! They provide you with the chess set and the clock for tournament games but often players bring their own.
— You also get to play casual games especially on the weekends. They have a couple of outdoor tables which are excellent for playing blitz and doing post-​mortem analysis and gives a Washington Square Park ish feel especially if you are playing on a warm sunny afternoon!
— They also have training and coaching classes for kids which is excellent.
— Members get invite (often with discounted entry fee) to outside USCF and FIDE tournaments including the national open!
— They have a sandwich place next door which is handy if you want a quick bite in the middle of a game!
Overall this is a great place to play and learn chess and have fun meeting people that loves the game and if you are a chess player or a chess fan or an enthusiast that lives in Orange County, you ought to become a member of this club!

For adults and children, Chess Palace is a great place to play and learn chess. Lessons are always available. A daily tournament is held every Saturday and there is usually a tournament held Sunday as well. Other chess events are held Wed/​Friday nights, grandmaster exhibitions are frequently hosted, and great players are likely to drop in unannounced, as did Magnus Carlsen, at the time the highest rated chess player in the world, who recently played in the club’s Saturday tournament. First prize was $ 70, and — one assumes — Carlsen was $ 65 short for a new set of tires. He did win the tournament, although perhaps that goes without saying.
Chess Palace is a wonderful place to hang out and make friends while enjoying the great game of chess. It is owned and operated by the Ong family. The first name of the male members of the Ong family always begins with the letter A: Alfredo, Anthony, Alfred, Aaron… There are others as well. So when you see that you have been paired against A. Ong in the next round of the tournament, you will still have no idea who that might be, which appears to be the intent, like the Aikido master who wears a skirt so that his opponent will not be able to see how his legs are set.
The Ongs are the nicest people you will ever meet and I highly recommend Chess Palace to one and all. Anyone who knows Chess Palace will surely do the same.

My son comes here once a week for chess lessons and he LOVES it! He is only 6, and the classes are tailored for his age group. He gets to play kids his own age, and the chess coach also plays with them, gives them tips, and sets time aside for instruction. His game has improved a lot since he started coming here.
We are happy that we found Chess Palace.

I came here to get my kids some chess sets and clock and WOW, this place is a full on chess store. They have tons of books, dozens of different kinds of sets (I had to call my kids down to see which ones they liked, there was so much options). When I came here, they were having a tournament. The owner was outside playing some casual games. When he saw us walking out, he started a couple of games with my kids and gave them a lot of tips and advise. Before I know it, it’s been 45 minutes and my kids were still enjoying themselves. We got home and they wanted to use the new chess sets right away (they’re 5 and 7). I am already planning to sign my kids up for their youth chess program and pretty soon, tournaments. My kids enjoyed it, and so did I! They’re starting to kick my butt now!

Great place to find a game or tournament. Used books and Chess supplies available.

So this is beyond a doubt the best place to play chess in Orange County.
It’s a family run business, and they’ve taken over a Southern California tradition, as the original chess palace opened well over two decades ago.
They have a very friendly USCF blitz tournament every friday night, with a twist since lower rated players get extra time to level the playing field.
They have a variety of tournaments each month so you can play at the time control that’s best for you, I prefer 30 minutes to a side, so if you play a terrible game at least it’s only an hour and you get to play 3 or 4 more games that day.
They also offer chess instruction, I’ve taken several hours of tutoring there and my game has improved substantially.
They now have a new location that’s visible from the street and easy to find, so drop in and play a game.