It is headquartered in Long Beach, California, USA.

[2][3] The team was established in 2008 following a break up between the Vieira Brothers and their previous team, Brasa Clube de Jiu Jitsu.

The Vieira brothers saw similarities in the strategic and tactical nature of chess and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

[4] Checkmat has a strong presence in the Rio de Janeiro favelas through Ricardo Vieira and his Projeto Cantagalo with fighters such as Jansen Gomes.

At the 2023 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Checkmat competitor Samuel Nagai won the Male -70 kg class.