On May 7, Clague’s Chess Club will enter a district-wide tournament against Tappen and Forsythe. This may seem a bit ambitious for a club that was founded only this year, but Geoff Anderson, the club chaperone and a teaching consultant for eighth grade, believes otherwise.
“I want to bring some excitement, fun, and competition to Clague’s chess club and also chess clubs around the district,” Anderson said. “ My hope is to grow the championship so we can host it every year, and all schools in the district will have enough players and will have a culminating event each year to look forward to.”
The tournament will be formatted in A and B teams with 10 minutes on the clock. For each move that a player makes, they gain two seconds.
“Players will play two games — one as white and one as black. One point will be awarded for a win, and 0.5 points for a tie,” Anderson said.
Clague has been preparing for the tournament by hosting a practice tournament for Clague only. The tournament will also be how Clague chooses the A and B team players.
“We are concluding our own school tournament this week to determine seedings for both divisions. The best way to prepare is to play chess, study, and do puzzles,” Anderson said.
The Tournament will be very competitive, and each of the schools has been preparing for it for almost two months.
“The best thing to do when facing a tough opponent is to trust yourself and your preparation and to stay calm, confident, and focused,” Anderson said. “If you make a mistake, you have to be able to shake it off and go on to the next move; Chess is both a mental exercise and a sport. With sports comes winning and losing.”
Above all else, the Clague Chess Club is determined to learn from the experience. They hope to have many more competitions in the future as the club grows.
“We started out with only a few players the first couple of weeks, but now have close to 30 students who are a part of Clague’s chess club,” Anderson said. “I am hoping the tournament gives us something to look forward to next year and leads to more players joining.”
