How You Can Get Even More Enjoyment Out Of Chess

Enjoyment of the game is the only reason to play chess for 99.99 percent of players. Only a handful of players in the world can actually call it a profession, and none of them live in Oklahoma. So it seems reasonable to look for ways to get even more enjoyment out of this great game, especially if it would cost very little.

Consider this; we have some pretty good chess players all over Oklahoma that obviously enjoy the game. We also have a growing number of scholastic chess clubs with good people running them, due to the efforts of OSCO. All the scholastic club organizers I know do this as volunteers out of the goodness of their hearts to help the kids experience the many benefits of chess (visit www.okschess.org to learn about the benefits). However, well run scholastic clubs are often organized by teachers or parents who themselves have admittedly limited chess abilities. These clubs would really appreciate a good chess player showing up at meetings to share their knowledge and enjoyment of the game. Surprisingly, you may actually benefit as much the kids!

From a purely educational perspective, going back to the basics and teaching them to kids may help your own game. If you don’t actually learn from the material you prepare to share, then you’ll certainly learn from the questions the kids ask, which can be real head scratchers. Don’t be surprised if you frequently have to study between meetings to answer these questions.

More importantly, chess kids tend to be the pick of the litter and honestly a pleasure to get to know. There will be some who really study the game and excel at the interscholastic tournaments both as individuals and as part of the school team. There will be others who don’t take the game quite as seriously, but enjoy the game, team spirit and chess fellowship just as much as anyone. You’ll have a few who may have been having problems in their school or personal life that become wonderful new kids. They just needed an activity or a good group of kids to be a part of. Teachers, counselors, administrators and parents will mention these from time to time. That’s what really touches the heart and will take your love of this game to new heights.

This is really a Win-Win deal. You get more enjoyment of the game through opportunities to share, learn and know that you’ve really made a positive difference in the lives of a bunch of kids who become your friends. The kids have opportunity to learn from a positive role model and experience the many benefits of chess. This is a match made in Heaven.

If you might be interested in helping a scholastic chess club with your chess expertise, please contact the OCA today by calling Chuck Unruh (1-918-371-2978or 1-800-460-2794) or Mike Swatek (918-812-1591 cell) or admin@ochess.org .

Have fun,

Mike Swatek