Scholastic Chess-What Would Steinitz Have Thought?

I went to the Illinois State Scholastic tournament yesterday and I was struck by several things. First and foremost was the enthusiasm of the kids who were playing chess for sheer joy of the game. It was nice to see that for a change instead of people who were playing for money as is typically the case in the large Swiss adult tournaments. The other thing that struck me was the dedication of the parents and coaches who were spending the weekend with their kids so they could play chess. This is no small commitment and unlike youth soccer or hockey, the parents aren't even allowed to watch the games! (There is considerable merit to this idea by the way, other youth sports are thinking about it too..)There were over 700 players at this event with players ranging in age from 5 to 14 and my hat is off to the organizers of this event as well. While it was chaotic outside the tournament hall, it was quite quiet within. While only a small percentage of these kids will go on to play adult tournament chess, scholastic chess spreads knowledge of the game and that can only help chess in the long run. If ever the US is to seriously challenge for the world title again, the seeds of that challenge will from programs like this as well as support for the current challengers that we may put forth today.

In Praise of Brick and Mortar Chess Clubs

Chess Life, the magazine of the United States Chess Federation recently ran an article praising the rise of online chess while lamenting ever so slightly the decline of the "brick and mortar" chess club. I have belonged to several brick and mortar clubs over the years and I also play on several online chess playing sites. While the game is the same (at least the rules are similar), the environments are completely different. You typically don't see your opponent in online chess although he may taunt you (courage behind a keyboard is truly something to behold) and you aren't always sure exactly who you are playing. This is especially true on the slower sites. Before we fly into a Luddite rage about computers, I might point out it was not uncommon to gather at the local chess club to analyze postal games in the pre-computer era either. At a brick and mortar club you get to meet your opponents, learn from them or teach them and socialize with them during and after the meeting. Chess used to be the province of "gentlemen" something to do when sports weren't available or age had robbed one of the ability to anchor the defensive line. Later it became more egalitarian. The friends I made at my local chess club have been my friends for almost 35 years now. Sadly, the club has declined but not because of online chess. Brick and mortar clubs take organizers. They also need places to meet. In our case, because of changing demographics, a lot of the members had moved a good distance from the club and the price of gas has taken its toll. Fortunately we all found a new club and reformed our relationships there. The old club is still going but will probably not last much longer. Had we brought in new and younger players and found more people to help run the club, this probably wouldn't have happened. So it isn't online chess that is doing in the brick and mortar club, it's people. Still, 50 years is a pretty good run for any kind of club and maybe, just maybe someone else will come in the door.

What Is ChessCountry.com About?

Years ago when Peter Connor and I founded Chesscountry.com we actually had a "mission statement" on the site. Mercifully we killed that fairly early on but for those of you that are new to the site, our main purpose was to help people play better chess. Our site is not aimed at grandmasters although we are always excited when one stops by but rather the every day player who enjoys the game and may never play a tournament in his life. This site is dedicated to you and we try and provide features that will help you play a better game and have fun at the same time. We will be adding more and more articles and reviews as time passes to do exactly that. Enjoy!

-Bill

The ChessCountry Blog

This is a feature that is long overdue for ChessCountry. It is one of many we hope to add in the next few months including a complete redesign of the site. ChessCountry has been arround since 2003 and the site has changed and evolved over the years. We hope you will find the new design attractive as well as the new features that we hope to add.