Chess is a bit like boxing, but without the gloves

‘Checkmate’: Tech’s chess club Members see benefits of game’s challenges
By John Grant Emeigh 
of The Montana Standard
 
The opponents are head-to-head. Within a jab’s reach.

Sometimes they attack the middle. Other times, they faint to the right and strike on the left.

This is why some people say that a competitive game of chess is a bit like boxing, but without the gloves.

Mitch Meyer, president of the Montana Tech Chess Club, certainly likes a good bout of mental pugilism.

“I love getting those moves that absolutely no one saw coming, and you just take out your opponent,” he says and grins.

Yeah, everybody loves a good knockout.

The group meets on Mondays on the much quieter lower floor of the campus’ student union. There’s no television blaring sports highlights from the weekend or large cliques of students grousing about mid-term exams. Just the quiet hum of central heating mixing with the muted din of intense concentration.

Because he’s always enjoyed the game, Tech professor Butch Gerbrandt volunteered to be the faculty advisor for the chess club two years ago. He started playing as a 6-year-old.

Tech’s chess club currently has about 15 active members.

The school had a chess club a long time ago, but it had been inactive for years. It was revived again in 2007 by Tech students John Little and George Cox; it continues to thrive today.

The club also hosts an annual tournament that is open to anyone in the community. The date for the next tournament hasn’t been set yet, Gerbrandt said.

Though some of the members describe themselves as “gamers” – or those who like to play video games – most prefer a good, old-fashion game of chess in a non-virtual world.

Andy Epperson, a 19-year-old sophomore from Boise, likes the game because the players are in complete control of their actions. There are consequences and rewards for every move.

“There’s no randomness to it, he said. “It forces you to adapt to situations.”

Club member Al Steiner – considered to be the chess club’s best player – picked up the game about eight years ago after being injured while working on construction. Steiner, 48, is now a senior majoring in chemistry. He credits the game for making him a better student.

While he was recuperating from his injuries, Steiner said he played many chess games, and it changed the way his mind worked.

“The amount of problem solving, thinking under pressure, understanding spatial relations was a great benefit,” Steiner said.

He also taught his children to play chess and saw them improve in their studies.

“I almost immediately saw a bump in their grades,” Steiner said.

Source: http://mtstandard.com