by James Eade

The Arthur Award for Chess Excellence, a prize of $1,000, was established in 2020 by the Eade Foundation and was established to memorialize Arthur W. Eade. Arthur W. Eade taught his son, James Eade, the game of chess and bought James his first chess book. When Arthur could no longer teach James anything more about chess, he asked his colleague Dr. Staples to take him to the North Adams State College chess club, where they both taught Mathematics. James played his first games against USCF rated players there.

The Arhtur Award recognizes players who strive for chess excellence and for working towards goals consistent with the Eade Foundation’s mission. It is given to the best essay received by the Eade Foundation no later than January 30th of each year, Arthur’s birthday. It is awarded on March 23rd, James’s birthday.

The essay should include evidence of the chess excellence already obtained by the potential recipient, how the award will be used to obtain further chess excellence, and how that chess excellence will be used to further the mission of the Eade Foundation. An article about the first winner can be seen here: Abhimanyu Mishra becomes youngest IM ever.

The Eade Foundation is supporting both chess literacy and chess excellence. The most important example of the Foundation’s attempt to advance chess literacy can be found here:Chess For Dummies

The Arthur Award is one of the Foundation’s tools to promote chess excellency. There are many others, some of which can be found at The Eade Foundation. Another part of the Eade Foundation’s mission involves building communities through chess, especially for those who cannot otherwise contact the chess community. Some examples of those efforts can be found at:The Eade Foundation

Chess is more than just a game!