Iowa Pawn Stormers

Scholastic Chess Team

The Iowa Pawn Stormers is a club team of select scholastic players from the Iowa City / Cedar Rapids Corridor. Membership in the Iowa Pawn Stormers includes the following:

  • Limited to (16) players and alumni. Players range in age from 3rd grade to 11th grade. We currently have three female and eleven male team members. Players can come from any school.

  • One practice per week for 26 weeks. We have chosen Thursday from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

    • Iowa Master and current Iowa State Champion ​Arshaq Saleem will be our head coach. Assistant coaching is also provided by James Hodina.

    • Practices rotate between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids with 2 practices in Coralville for every 1 in Cedar Rapids​ (reflective of the number of Pawn Stormers living in the two areas). CR players often van pool to IC.

  • The Iowa Pawn Stormers travel to 4 tournaments per year with coaches Arshaq Saleem and Jim Hodina. These events​ are selected by the families at the beginning of the season.

  • Total membership cost is $750 which may vary based on the tournaments selected at the beginning of the year.

  • 26 weekly lessons ​with the coaches

    • 4 Tournaments (or more) with on-site coach post-game analysis

    • Team Jacket with the Pawn Stormer logo

    • USCF and Chessable memberships

    • Weekly assignments called Chess Token Challenges. While highly recommended, they are not mandatory.

    • Pawn Stormer regalia for completion of Chess Token Challenges