For the love of the game

Chess club draws old, young kids

Sara Peck

Issue date: 4/22/08

Eighteen competitors entered a five-hour chess tournament at the Levy Senior Center Saturday. They entered without the promise of prize money, trophies or titles – only for their love to “move the pieces.”

But the players are no amateurs. Three champions of their respective divisions met at the monthly competition, although two of them can only reach the waist of the third. Mark Jutovsky, the 35-year-old reigning Class A chess champion of Illinois, has been playing chess since long before Conrad Oberhaus, 8, and Zachary Holecek, 9, were born. But at the Evanston Chess Club, Jutovsky is still a newcomer compared to the members who played their first matches more than 50 years ago.

The club blends competitive games and a casual atmosphere, an anomaly in a chess world dominated increasingly by Web-based play and cash prizes, said Maret Thorpe, the club co-leader and founder.”

The club was intended to be a community gathering place, sort of a break-even proposition,” Thorpe said. “Our members like the game. They’re serious, but the point of the club was where people could play in a friendly, inexpensive environment.”

Competitive chess has become costly, Thorpe said. Some tournaments, such as the Illinois State Championship, charge entry fees that range between $40-$65 and award thousands of dollars in prize money. TheEvanston Chess Club, founded in January of 2007, holds open play Tuesday nights and organizes tournaments with $5 entry fees.

Even though members come for the collegial atmosphere, many boast impressive competitive records. Jutovsky learned the game when he was 10, and is now returning to competition after a brief break.

“Everyone here is very friendly,” he said. “The community is one of the main reasons why I come.”

Source: dailynorthwestern.com