Local Chess Club teaches old and new players alike

Posted 7/6/16

Elijah and Isaiah Harper play chess at Chestnut Hill Library’s weekly chess club (Photo by Lizzie Strickland)[/caption] by Lizzie Stricklin On a warm summer evening, people of all ages can be found …

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Local Chess Club teaches old and new players alike

Posted
Elijah and Isaiah Harper play chess at Chestnut Hill Library’s weekly chess club (Photo by Lizzie Strickland) Elijah and Isaiah Harper play chess at Chestnut Hill Library’s weekly chess club (Photo by Lizzie Strickland)[/caption]

by Lizzie Stricklin

On a warm summer evening, people of all ages can be found heading to the Chestnut Hill Library, looking for companionship, intellectual stimulus and a good time. The source of this enjoyment resides at the back of the library, behind big double doors, inside a strategic game that appeals to people of all generations.

On Wednesday evenings from 7-8:30, the Chestnut Hill Library meeting room is host to the Chess Club, where players of all ages and experience levels can meet to play the game. Once residing at Lovett Library in Mt. Airy, the club has now moved to the Chestnut Hill Library since Lovett is closed for renovations. Chess games are provided, and players are encouraged to play with peers to become more experienced.

The club was founded at Lovett where it became very popular.

“When Cooper and I started this, eight or nine years ago, I can’t believe how successful it was, how many people would show up every week,” said club co-founder Luke Prendergast, describing average attendance as “a core group of 10 or 12 adults and 20 to 30 kids.”

The club invites new and inexperienced players to learn the game of chess, saying that new players can be taught by their peers or by parents and adult players willing to help. Although the club focuses primarily on playing for fun, there have been many studies that show the mental benefits of playing chess.

“Concentration, planning, and goal setting are just a few of the behaviors included in playing chess,” said co-founder Cooper Russell, also citing increased math skills and abstract thinking as other benefits.

In addition to the more recreational chess club, held year-round, the pair also runs a competitive youth chess team during the school year through the Philadelphia After School Activities Partnerships (ASAP). The children compete in local and state tournaments for medals and trophies, and the team has been very successful.

“When they go to tournaments, they win individual medals, but you can also win the trophies as a team,” Prendergast said. “[At Lovett Library,] we had a table full of trophies.”

“We started up the club to give kids who were not active in the popular sports like football, baseball and basketball an opportunity to participate in a team sport,” Russell said.

At tournaments, the children play as a team by adding up points from their individual wins to a grand team total, thus supporting each other in their playing.

“Camaraderie is a large part of all team sports, the same with chess,” Russell added.

Prendergast encourages children to learn to play chess because “it’s a different thing.”

“For the kids who come here, it’s a neat thing that you do, that not a lot of kids do,” he said, “and a lot of kids don’t play very well, so you come to play at chess club and you get to be really good at it.”

Russell and Prendergast stressed that everyone has the ability to learn to play chess.

“Chess is a truly equal opportunity sport,” Russell said “You don’t have to be tall or big, fast or strong. Girls can play boys, and young can challenge old – chess is a universal game. All you need is a love for the game.”

Consequently, the weekly Chess Club is open and free to anyone, and people of all ages are encouraged to join. Parents are welcome to stay and play chess alongside their children in the friendly and cooperative atmosphere the club provides.

“I always thought the neat thing about it was how intergenerational it was,” Prendergast said, speaking of the club at the Lovett Library. “There’s a table of adults playing, and then two tables of kids. I always liked that.”

When Lovett Library reopens in 2017, Russell and Prendergast hope to leave Chestnut Hill Library with a chess club of its own. In the meantime, Russell said, “We welcome anyone who would like to come and join us in a nice game of chess.”

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