In the fall of 2022, Carter Worcester, President of the Chess Club, was looking for a place on campus to destress and meet new people. He discovered the recently founded Chess Club, which was at that time meeting in the basement of the Classroom Building.
When asked what drew him to Chess Club, Worcester said, “interest in and love of the game, really.”
Love of the game drew Worcester in, but the friendly nature of everyone involved in the Chess Club kept him coming back for more.
“…It’s a really fantastic way to play chess casually, I think, in an environment that really facilitates having fun with folks who are like-minded,” Worcester said.
That interest and welcoming environment is what encouraged Worcester to take over the presidency of the club in the fall of 2023 after the graduation of its founder, Beck Herman.
Since then, Worcester has been responsible for organizing meetings and generally ensuring that the Chess Club runs smoothly.
“I have a lot of help from the other officers,” Worcester said.
One of those officers includes Rylan Knopp, who is currently Vice President of the Chess Club. Like Worcester, duty to a friend drew Knopp to an officer position with the club.
“I had always played chess as a kid…and Carter needed a vice president,” Knopp said.
When asked why people should join the Chess Club, Knopp said, “We do fun events, we’re a fun group of people.”
While a general love of the game drew Worcester and Knopp to the Chess Club, one member, Jasmin Mahoney, had a more sentimental reason for her discovery of the club.
“I played chess with my dad as a child and wanted to graduate from a child’s ability to a college student’s ability,” Mahoney said.
Additionally, Mahoney enjoys the social aspect of the club, as it provides her with a way to spend time with friends and meet new people, regardless of how well she knows them.
“It’s really social, you can sit down and join and play chess with anyone and you’ll still have a good time,” Mahoney said. “It’s a brilliant way to get involved on campus…the learning never really stops.”
Since its founding in the spring of 2022, the Chess Club’s turnout has grown by leaps and bounds, steadily attracting new members over the last two years.
“It started out as a fairly small club of about 6 people in the bottom of the Classroom Building and has grown to around twenty in the Skylight Lounge, so it’s been a pretty exciting development to see,” Worcester said.
The Chess Club meets on Mondays from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Union Skylight Lounge.
