Chess club is returning this year in Hall’s room for an hour after school every Wednesday. It is being headed by the juniors Matthew Godek and Gavin Dhondt. They have taking a liking to chess during quarantine and believe others did, too.

“A lot of people enjoyed it from freshman year, Queen’s Gambit, and Pogchamps” said Godek. (Queen’s Gambit is a popular show on Netflix about chess, and Pogchamps is a chess tournament hosted by Chess.com for Twitch personalities)

To accommodate new players, the club will mainly consist of teachings, social-critical discussions, and bracket-style tournaments. For the first few meetings, they will focus on opening principles of 1.e4 and 1.d4. (1.e4 and 1.d4 are chess notations for white’s first move being pawn to e4 and pawn to d4)

Although chess can be a fun recreational activity, it is also a competitive skill-based game. Dhondt and Godek are highly rated and understand chess on a deep level. However, when asked who the better player is, Godek admitted that Dhondt was better. Dhondt, rated around 1600, explains why he enjoys chess:

“If you make a mistake, there is no one to blame other than yourself and it’s a true test of skill,” he said.

Looking at people who are interested in joining, they seem to also be chess enthusiasts.

“Since my friends are running chess club, I want to join them to beat them one day… …because that would be hilarious,” said junior, Jack Palus.

For anyone who is interested in chess and/or wants to take chess seriously, going to chess club should be a real consideration.

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