What city is the US chess mecca

I recently read in Chess Life that, St. Louis, MO is a major chess hub in the U.S. Is there anyone here from St. Louis? Do you agree/disagree? I would love to read everyone's input. Let me post the question this way: Let's say one just won the lottery and could afford to live anywhere in the U.S.. What would be the best city for chess activity?

Thanks in advance to all participants.

David R.

I have always thought it would be NYC but maybe it has changed ? 

My first thought when I saw the subject line was NYC. But the lottery question makes me think of it differently.

If I won the lottery, I'd be inclined to buy a place in New Orleans for chess clubs, tournaments, and house-funded cash games.

I once did a study of the distribution of USCF members amongst the states.  As I recall, NY, PA, IL and CA had the largest concentration of members.  Within these states, the majority of players are probably in NYC, Philly, LA, SF, and Chicago (Just a guess, the data are only available at the state level).

If I could afford to live anywhere in the US, I would live in Moscow.

As an outsider I would think that the answer depends on the number of chess events of your class that are organized in that city. This in turn depends on the number of clubs and/or organizers in the area. So I would say New York, New York. But then, with a lottery win you could live anywhere and just  travell to the games.

The club in St louis is stae of the Art ! So for now ...Its St louis !

Saint Louis is a rather recent addition and they've made a very nice push. I'm very glad to live relatively close to it. The club facilities are just absolutely amazing.  I don't know if the tournament selection and size of the club quite warrant undisputed top dog status, but they are working their way up quickly.

New York is obviously the first thought. I've had the "won the lottery, go spend almost every night in the Marshall Chess Club" fantasy, of course. Plus, assuming you want to hit major tournaments, you can't go wrong with the east coast. The problem with St. Louis being centrally located is that, other than Chicago, it's a *long* way from any other major cities.

Another great chess city seems to be Dallas. I know a few players based there, and I'm very envious of the quality and frequency of their club's tournaments.

Chess capital of US = St. Louis, there it is.

Had to do some backpedaling on the Tennessee comment hehe.

Now, you're talking!!!!  :-)

Thanks for the response.

DR

What, in your opinion, are great accomodations?  What do you look for?

DR

Thanks for the info.  I have been that area on business many times, but didn't know about the big $$$ tourneys.  I live near New Orleans so, I suppose I need too look more closely in my own back yard.

David R.

Chicago has a number of large, well run tournaments each year, and one can easily drive or jump a cheap train seat to events in Wisconsin and St. Louis from there. While other cities may have more activity, the amount of activity one can easily get to from Chicago has to be pretty close to the top. 

I would say biasedly that Brownsville Tx is a good chess city. The university there is great and the city was featured on an HBO documentary segment

In what context?  Right now we are seeing a surge in players but who are they?  Imported players from other countries which might attend Webster University and rich kids who have the funding to participate.  While this might be positive for promoting chess overall, we don't see coverage of players who may not be able to afford hotel expenses or be able to eat at the Kingside Diner. 

I would like to see a mix of commentators, and not just the repeat of Shahade, Seirawan and Ashley.  My solution would be to have another group in St. Louis to handle the lower rated players and those who are from inner cities.

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If I recall correctly, Riverside County, California gave us GM Larry Christiansen.