On June 18, 2014, the first Congressional Chess Tournament was held at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC to raise awareness of the game’s educational benefits. The event was attended by former world chess champion Garry Kasparov. Participants included Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), and Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO). Another participant for a few moves was Senate Chaplin Barry Black.

Other political leaders who played chess include:

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), former US President. His chess set is on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. John Quincy Adams may have lost the Presidency because he played chess. Andrew Jackson supporters charged that John Quincy Adams wasted money and used public funds to buy gambling devices for the presidential residence. These gambling devices were an ivory chess set and a pool table. Adams had paid for the chess set with his own money. Andrew Jackson won big in 1828.

Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884), former Senator from Louisiana. He was also the Confederate States Secretary of State, Secretary of War, and Attorney General. He was a good friend of Paul Morphy’s father, Judge Alonzo Morphy.

Robert N. Bodine (1837-1914), U.S. Representative from Missouri.

Bob Brady (1945- ), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania.

Zbigniew Brzezinski (1928- ), former National Security Advisor. His book on foreign policy was called “The Grand Chessboard.”

Charles F. Buck (1841-1918), congressman from Louisiana. In 1885 he was the president of the New Orleans Chess Club. He refereed the Steinitz-Zukertort World Championship Match in 1886.

Aaron Burr (1756-1836), US Vice-President under Jefferson 1801-1805.

John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), former US Vice-President.

Jimmy Carter (1924- ), former US President. He wanted to become a chess master after leaving the White House. He bought several chess books and a chess computer, but eventually gave up in frustration. “I found that I didn’t have any particular talent for chess,” he lamented. “I hate to admit it, but that’s a fact.”

Salmon P.Chase (1808-1873), Governor and Senator from Ohio, and Supreme Court Chief Justice. He played several games of chess with US President James Garfield when they got together.

Henry Clay (1777-1852), former Senator from Kentucky and Secretary of State.

Grover Cleveland (1837-1908), former US President.

Bill Clinton (1946- ), former US President. He played for the Georgetown University’s chess team in 1968. He met with Garry Kasparov and was a keen supporter of the Chess-in-Schools program.

Bainbridge Colby (1869-1950), former Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson. He was a former member of the Manhattan Chess Club.

John Conyers (1929- ), congressman from Michigan.

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), former US President.

William Crawford (1772-1834), who served as US Senator from Georgia, US Secretary of War 1815-1816, Secretary of the Treasury 1816-1825, and presidential candidate in 1824.

John L. Crittenden (1786-1863), who was Governor of Kentucky, US Representative and Senator from Kentucky, and US Attorney General.
George M. Dallas (1792-1864), former US Senator from Pennsylvania and US Vice President. Under James Polk.

Charles Dawes (1865-1951), former US Vice President under Calvin Coolidge.

Bob Dole (1923- ), former U.S. Representative and Senator of Kansas.

Bob Ferguson was Washington State Attorney General and a chess master.

Millard Fillmore (1800-1874), former US President.

Felix Frankfurter (1882-1965), former Supreme Court Justice.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790).

James Garfield (1831-1881), former US President. He was probably the strongest chess player of all the US presidents.

Al Gore (1948- ), former US Vice-President.

Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), former US President.

John W. Griggs (1849-1927), governor of New Jersey. In 1895, he was elected president of the New Jersey Chess Association. He was also President of the Paterson Chess Club.

L. Irving Handy (1861-1922), congressmen from Delaware.

Warren Harding (1865-1923), former US President.

Vicky Hartzler (1960- ), Congresswoman from Missouri.

Rutherford B Hayes (1822-1893), former US President. His chess set is in the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Ohio.

Thomas Hendricks (1819-1885), former US Vice-President under Grover Cleveland. In 1885, he and President Grover Cleveland visited the Eden Musee in New York City to see Ajeeb, the chess automaton. Hendricks played Ajeeb and lost in a smothered mate.

Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), former US President.

James W. Huffman (1894-1980), former Senator from Ohio.

Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), former US President.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), former US President.

Nancy Kassebaum (1932- ), former senator from Kansas. She headed the National Advisory Committee for the Chess for Peach Initiative in 2005.

Henry Kissinger (1923- ), former National Security Advisor and former Secretary of State.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), former US President.

James Madison (1751-1836), former US President.

John Marshall (1755-1835), former Supreme Court Justice.

James Monroe (1758-1831), former US President.

Glenn Nye (1974- ), Congressman from Virginia.

Barack Obama (1961- ), US President.

Jim Oberweis (1946- ) is a member of the Illinois Senate. He has been a candidate for Governor of Illinois, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Representative. He served as President of the Illinois Chess Association for two years, was an Illinois delegate to the USCF, and trustee of the American Chess Foundation and the Chess Trust Fund.

George Pataki (1945- ), former governor of New York.

David Paterson (1954- ) former governor of New York.

Richmond Pearson (1852-1923), congressman from North Carolina.

T.S. Plowman, congressman from Alabama

James Polk (1795-1849), former US President.

Josiah Quincy III (1772-1864), congressman from Massachusetts.

John Randolph (1773-1833), Virginia Congressmen.

Bob Riley (1944- ), former governor of Alabama.

Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945), former US President.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), former US President.

Leo Ryan (1925-1978), congressman from California.

Rick Santorum (1958- ), former senator from Pennsylvania.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947- ), former governor of California.

John Shafroth (1854-1922), congressman, Senator, and governor from Colorado.

Harold Stassen (1907-2001), governor of Minnesota.

Robert Taft (1889-1953), former Senator from Ohio.

William Howard Taft (1857-1930), former senator from Ohio and US President.

Harry S Truman (1884-1953), former US President.

Cyrus Vance (1917-2002), former Secretary of State.

Ann Wagner (1962- ), Congresswoman from Missouri.

Earl Warren (1891-1974), former California governor and Supreme Court Chief Justice.

George Washington (1732-1799), former US President.

William Weld (1945- ), former governor of Massachusetts.

George Wellington (1852-1927), Senator from Maryland.

Henry Wilson (1812-1875), former US Vice President under Grant.

For chess and the American Presidency, which I helped write, see the World Chess Hall of Fame link

http://worldchesshof.org/exhibitions/exhibit/presidents-and-chess/

For Congress vs. Parliament 1897, see the Chess maniac article at

http://www.chessmaniac.com/index.php/2013/12/10/congress-vs-parliament-1897/

– Bill Wall