 At its peak, the USCL comprised twenty teams, whose members included some of the highest-rated chess players in the United States.Participants in the last season included Wesley So, Alexander Onischuk, Alex Lenderman, Anton Kovalyov, Varuzhan Akobian, Daniel Naroditsky, Julio Becerra, Joel Benjamin, and many other grandmasters.The League was founded in 2005 by International Master Greg Shahade.