Gator Chess Club is the official chess club at the University of Florida. We are a registered non-profit organization devoted to the promotion of chess on campus. Regular tournament events are hosted every Spring and Fall semester, some are open to the public while others are for UF students exclusively.

As of Fall 2026, Gator Chess Club meets on Thursdays at 6:00 pm in Room G310 of the Reitz Union.

In 1979, the UF Chess Club sent an underrated team to the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Championship. An underdog, the UF team upset every major university in the tournament, winning the tournament.

Since then, the club has remained active, with notable events including a lecture and 20-player simultaneous with IM Daniel Ludwig in 2008 and the 124-player Dr. John G. Harris Chess Championship in 2022.

With records as far back as 1916, the “U. of F. Chess Club” is one of the first documented names we have for organized chess at the University of Florida. Today, the Gator Chess Club (est. ~2008), remains one of the most prolific university chess organizations in central Florida.