Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame Special Informant Edition (May 2024)
Ceremonies with photos
The idea of a Colorado Chess Hall of Fame to immortalize Colorado’s rich history was introduced by Paul Covington after his 2013 chess road trip to visit 28 states east of Colorado.
Recently the Colorado State Chess Association has honored the players who made a significant contribution to Colorado Chess by inducting them into the Colorado Chess Hall of Fame.
The inaugural Colorado State Chess Association Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, hosted by selection committee chairman LM Randy Canney, was held on September 4, 2015.
The inaugural class members were Richard “Buck” Buchanan, Alexander Fishbein, Royal Franklin, Christine Hendrickson, John Howell, Dr. J. Juan Reid, and John Watson.
The standing room only event was a reunion of sorts with many players seeing each other for the first time in over 30 years.
GM Alex Fishbein recorded a heartfelt acceptance speech for the event.
The featured speaker was IM John Watson who flew to Denver to accept his award. The scholarly Watson reminisced about his days in the early 1970s when he and Chris Hendrickson ran the famous Chess House near downtown Denver. Watson’s give-and-take with the audience was enlivened by old memories and stories with the always entertaining Brian Wall’s amusing quips.
John spent the weekend at the Colorado Open catching up with old friends and providing game analysis for the players.
Buck Buchanan
Alexander Fishbein
Royal Franklin
Christine Hendrickson
John Howell
Dr. J. Juan Reid
John Watson
CSCA President Brad Lundstrom was the Master of Ceremonies for the second Colorado Chess Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on September 3, 2021.
Inducted into the Hall of Fame at this event were Todd Bardwick, John Harris, Michael Mulyar, and Brian Wall. Paul Covington and USCF VP of Finance Chuck Unruh attended the ceremony from Oklahoma and played in the Colorado Open over the Labor Day weekend.
Todd Bardwick
John Harris
Michael Mulyar
Brian Wall
