The Observer, April 14, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 24
Case Chess matches wits with success
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If there's one thing Case students know how to do – and do well – it's strategize. Be it developing strategies for how to graduate while getting the maximum hours of sleep or how to accomplish a week's worth of tasks in one day, any Case student can tell you how they do it. It is perhaps this predisposition to strategize that led the Case Chess Club to a first-place finish in the Ohio Collegiate Chess Tournament (OCC) two weeks ago.
This year, nine students competed, with the four highest scorers determining the outcome of the tournament. They came home with a $100 prize and a trophy for their efforts.
This new generation of Case Chess – whose previous incarnation faded out of existence at Case six years ago – was started by junior Andrew Clary, the president of Case Chess for the last three years. The club began as a friendly sherman house competition in the 2003, starting with only a dozen or so members who just played among themselves.
Three years later, the 32-member club chooses a few members to attend the state competition yearly. The chess club recruits mainly by word of mouth, occasionally using flyers to attract potential members. Each week they meet in the Guilford Parlor and play one another, exchanging tips and strategies, as well as planning upcoming events.
Said Clary, "We have fun and spend our time just playing every week."
The meeting attendees also vary from week to week, allowing members opportunities to play against several different opponents.
From time to time, guest speakers from the community will attend the meetings and offer strategy tips. The Case Chess adviser, Pieter Dehaseth, a professor of biochemistry, is also a frequent speaker and an accomplished chess player. Said Clary, "Our adviser is awesome. His score is so high that he's almost a grand master."
Club officers are also currently planning a Cleveland-wide chess tournament, which would allow Case students and community members to compete. They hope to have it set up by next fall, and plan to advertise it both on and off campus.
In the meantime, Case students can attend Case Chess Club meetings every Thursday at 8 p.m.
"I'd like everyone on campus to come to at least one meeting to play, or at least come in and learn to play," said Clary. So put those hard-earned concentration skills to work, and try matching wits with some of the best strategists at Case – you could end up learning a trick or two.
For more information, Clary can be reached by e-mail at amc31@case.edu.
