Mission Statement
Our mission is simple but foundational to everything we do: To make chess tournaments of the highest quality available to chess players of all locations and backgrounds, so that no one ever plays in a second rate event due to the lack of a first class tournament.
Vision Statement
We envision becoming the world’s leading purveyor of chess tournaments while maintaining our unshakeable commitment to quality, integrity and efficiency.
Core Values
- Excellence: We endeavor to ensure that our tournaments are the very best they can possibly be.
- Integrity: We cherish honest dealings and fair play.
- Service: We strive to serve our customers with the utmost standards of patience, respect and responsiveness.
- Innovation: We are committed to innovating our services vigorously to enhance quality and promote efficiency.
- Transparency: We pledge to be forthright and open with our customers in all of our tournaments.
Who are we?
Innovative Chess Solutions, LLC is a limited liability company, which was incorporated in Texas on October 8, 2021 and maintains its corporate offices in the vicinity of Waco, TX. As the sole member and President, Caleb S. Brown owns and operates the company. Innovative Chess Solutions is proud to be an affiliate of the United States Chess Federation and an official chess club of the Texas Chess Association.
A Brief History
Innovative Chess Solutions began with an idea: To fill the void of quality scholastic tournaments in Central Texas. Although there had long been many club-level tournaments in the local area, our founder believed that local scholastic students deserved better. So, with the help of many wonderful people, he organized the 2019 Waco Scholastic Chess Championship, and after that event proved successful, went on to organize another for the spring of the following year.
When the Coronavirus Pandemic can around, the chess world changed forever. In the pursuit of suppressing the virus, in-person chess tournaments, including our own spring event, were rapidly cancelled or postponed. After realizing that the virus would not evaporate soon enough to hold the now-postponed tournament, our founder did the unthinkable: Virtualize the tournament. While having to postpone and then virtualize the event due to the pandemic was initially inconvenient, it was actually a blessing in disguise. After holding one more online tournament in March of 2021, we announced a monthly series of online scholastic tournaments that soon took off. These events soon became popular, reaching a record of over fifty students towards the end of the year. So far, we have been blessed to serve hundreds of students from twenty-eight states and four foreign countries in these tournaments.
Fortunately, however, the pandemic eventually began to wind down and normal life emerged. As a consequence, our founder organized our first in-person chess tournament since the pandemic in July of 2021 and obtained sixty-two participants. This broke the all-time record for the largest chess tournament ever held in Waco, demolishing a record that had stood since 1973. Another in-person tournament was held in November of that year and was even larger, with seventy-two participants from fourteen counties. This brings us to the present as we intend to continue to hold more stellar events like these from time to time. Stay tuned!
Our Founder
Caleb is a student of Baylor University who resides in a rural area outside of Waco with parents and two brothers. During his decade-long tenure as a chess player, Caleb has played in more than fifty rated chess tournaments and has obtained a regular rating of 1377. He has been certified by the United States Chess Federation as a Local Tournament Director and has directed dozens of rated tournaments. Caleb is also the Chief Editor of the Limestonian Chronicle, a monthly journal of analysis and opinion. He is also a member of the US Chess Board of Delegates. His favorite flavor of ice cream is huckleberry.
What makes us Different?
The IDEAS Principles = A Superior Tournament Experience
I
D
E
A
S
Inclusivity: We avoid all needless prerequisites and qualifications, so that our events are as available as possible. For example, we allow schools and chess clubs alike to participate and win team prizes in our individual-team scholastic tournaments.
Dynamic: We are constantly improving our tournaments to suit the needs of our players and their families. Nothing but our timeless values is static at Innovative Chess Solutions.
Ease: We prioritize ease of use and education among our registrants. Miscommunication and confusion are unacceptable.
Affordability: We strive to ensure that our entry fees are affordable for almost any budget while not compromising on quality or efficiency.
Support: We are always ready and willing to answer questions from our registrants and to provide them with the help they need to make the most of their tournament experience.
Discover More!
Would you like to discover more about Innovative Chess Solutions? To do so, visit our Eventbrite organizer page to find our latest events or read what our chess players are saying about us under testimonials.