Chess Club Hosts Competitions, Fun

The chess club is more popular than ever with a historic 24 members since the club’s launch.

Students go head to head in a game of strategy and of course, fun during the club’s meetings  in the library every Tuesday during period 11, but with so much interest, the club is looking to meet more frequently.

Junior Sebastian Khoury is president of the chess club and handles the logistics of organizing matches as well as tournaments for members to take part in.

“[As president], you just have to make sure that you take account of everybody who wants to join, make sure they know what to do, send out emails, answer questions and try to get boards available for people to play on,” Khoury said.

Junior Brandon Boothe is the vice president of the club and assists Khoury in managing activities.

“The logistical side isn’t very tough,” Boothe said. “We have a few boards in the library, so we don’t have to worry about transporting them. When we did a tournament earlier this year, I had to keep a bracket with [everyone’s rankings]. I [also] answer emails with new people trying to join.”

Chess club is always open to members; however, they have to know how to play the game to take part in the matches between students. spectate until they are able to play on their own.

“Anyone can join, but I’d recommend at least knowing how to play chess,” Boothe said. “The average member joins with very

low Chess knowledge and learns with other people through playing. But as a general rule, a basic knowledge of how to play is going to be required.”

The two juniors admit that there are advantages to taking part in the club that students can’t quite find in other student-run organizations.

“[One advantage is] being able to have a place to play chess against other people who have the same passion,” Khoury said. “Also, we hold tournaments and organized competitions every now and then as well.”

 

Boothe admits that keeping the pace of the games going is never truly a problem because of the club’s nature.

“I mean mostly it’s just fun, casual and a great chance to play a game that requires critical thinking,” Boothe said. “Most of the people [involved] signed up to hang out with their friends and play chess for fun.”
For anyone interested, there additionally is no mandatory participation in the club’s meetings, making a stress-free environment for all players.

“I’d say about 15 of [the 24 members] show up daily, and occasionally, others will come along,” Boothe said. “There’s no requirement to show up though, so we’re cool with people playing as they can.”

Students interested in joining can contact Boothe at [email protected], Khoury at [email protected] or stop in the library during one of the club’s sessions.