An Innovative Type of Chess Tournament

For many years, the chess world has offered chess tournaments for kids, restricted to junior players only. These range from casual all the way up to their own World Championships, in categories of Junior (under 20 years old) and Youth (under 18 years old).

A newer development can be found at the Charlotte Chess Center: ALTO, which stands for “At Least Twenty-One”. As the name suggests, it is a tournament for only adults, age 21 and over!

This Fall’s edition, held last weekend, was the fifth ALTO tournament hosted in Charlotte since 2022, and attracted 130 players between three rating sections. FM Nate Solon earned the victory in the Championship section – his second in these events, previously winning in September 2023 – ahead of GM Kayden Troff, WGM Dina Belenkaya, two IMs, and several other masters.

Look for ALTO to catch on elsewhere, as grown ups construct spaces where they can hide from those terrifying, rambunctious junior chess players!