Spring is coming…In the meantime, these short days and chilly nights make for good chess. Find or start a local club and enjoy the journey to Spring.
I finally worked up the nerve to try to find a club to join, and sent a message to one that, judging by their FB page, meets not far from where I live in one of Cleveland’s southeastern suburbs. Somebody messaged me back, sending me a phone number and inviting me to call him. I wrote back, explaining that because I stutter I really dislike using the phone, and anyway I just had some questions like…do they have any members aged 60 and over? When do they get together on Saturday?
I haven’t heard from them since. So, maybe talking to a stranger on the phone is necessary in order to join a chess club, in which case it will be me and my Radio Shack 1650 chess computer for the foreseeable future.
But anyway, Happy Solstice and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and Christmas and/or whatever holidays you choose to celebrate. Life can be and often is very difficult, so I think we should take advantage of every opportunity to celebrate any and all holidays.
This holiday season, my chess-loving friends, may all your combinations be elegant.
I’m surprised that their Facebook page doesn’t list their meeting place and times. I’ve rarely had anyone call for information, it’s usually an email or FB message. What is the name of the club?
Why not just walk into the club and say, “Hi.” We get new people all of the time who walk in. Some e-mail in advance with questions. Some call and ask what the club is like. On the whole it is better to dip your toe in the chess ocean and see what it is like for yourself. So, you stutter sometimes. So what? Don’t worry about it. Chess players are usually a very welcoming bunch that are too busy playing to notice. Age and infirmity are not real barriers to moving pieces about the board. Go have some fun and do not worry about winning and losing. Learn, laugh, and play.
I agree as to the stuttering issue, but I can understand it being uncomfortable. My closest friend growing up had a severe stuttering problem until his overbearing mother passed away when he was 22. To answer the question in your mind…No. He didn’t kill his mother. 
Yup. Just walk in and play chess.
This is a good suggestion, except apparently the Facebook page doesn’t list a meeting time. I agree that it is worth Mr. Morgan’s time to check out the club once to see if it is welcoming to people over 60, but not to show up and wait all day to see when it is open.
Alex Relyea
I originally contacted the Your Next Move Chess Club on Facebook in late November. Not getting answers to my questions irritated me at first, because I thought they would say, “Hey! Cool! Someone new wants to come down and play with us!” But then I just shrugged and laughed. It took me a loooong time to work up the nerve to even consider sitting down in a chess club setting and playing against actual real live people. Oh well.
Anyway, family health issues that have emerged in recent days have kind of put joining a chess club on the back burner for now. As I say, we should take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way to celebrate life and faith and family.
I would just show up at a meeting. Even with family problems, and perhaps because of having family health problems, it would be good to get away for a short time and have a nice game or so of Chess to distract one from the problems.
In my experience, being over 60 also should not cause a problem unless you are dealing with a scholastic club. Then any adult age would be a problem. I am also over 60.