0
Chess club gets off to a slow but promising start
27 October 2010
Bad weather probably deterred a few prospective players, and Collingwood's Adult Chess Club had a modest attendance, Tuesday night, for its inaugural meeting. Six people showed up to play - or rather six had shown up before I left, an hour-and-a-half later. I hope more will show up over the next few weeks as we continue. It would be nice to have about a dozen regulars.
I managed to get in about a dozen games of speed chess - played with a chess clock and a five-minute total limit for each player's moves. Speed chess is a bit different from regular chess in that it is fast, furious, and requires players to think quickly rather than engage in deep planning. It helps to have some openings memorized, too, so you can get through the first dozen or so moves without having to spend your precious time planning.
Speed chess is also much more error-prone than regular chess, since you don't have the time to analyze a position, and it's easy to miss even simple mistakes. or at least it is for me. I missed some beginners' level traps and combinations that would be obvious in regular play.
I won one, drew one and lost the balance of my games. Obviously I need a lot more practice. That's what chess clubs are for: practice, as well as learning, and socializing. I could practice at home on my computer, but that's never as much fun, although my chess programs are rated much higher than any local players.
The chess club meets every Tuesday night at the library from 6 p.m. to closing. Come out if you can spare an hour or wo to pla a game and meet the other players.
Sometime this fall, if time permits, I'll start a ukulele club and give some ukulele lessons at the library.
I managed to get in about a dozen games of speed chess - played with a chess clock and a five-minute total limit for each player's moves. Speed chess is a bit different from regular chess in that it is fast, furious, and requires players to think quickly rather than engage in deep planning. It helps to have some openings memorized, too, so you can get through the first dozen or so moves without having to spend your precious time planning.
Speed chess is also much more error-prone than regular chess, since you don't have the time to analyze a position, and it's easy to miss even simple mistakes. or at least it is for me. I missed some beginners' level traps and combinations that would be obvious in regular play.
I won one, drew one and lost the balance of my games. Obviously I need a lot more practice. That's what chess clubs are for: practice, as well as learning, and socializing. I could practice at home on my computer, but that's never as much fun, although my chess programs are rated much higher than any local players.
The chess club meets every Tuesday night at the library from 6 p.m. to closing. Come out if you can spare an hour or wo to pla a game and meet the other players.
Sometime this fall, if time permits, I'll start a ukulele club and give some ukulele lessons at the library.
