The Growth of Alaskan Chess
Contributed by Samuel Hada
“As proved by evidence, [chess is] more lasting in its being and presence than all books and achievements; the only game that belongs to all people and all ages; of which none knows the divinity that bestowed it on the world, to slay boredom, to sharpen the senses, to exhilarate the spirit.” (Stefan Zweig) and what has made it last so long are the people who gather together to play it. There are three primary ways that chess gathers people together: the internet, the club, and the tournament.
The tournament is the furnace of the chess world in regard to skill and a state fair in regard to the people you get to meet, and there have been a lot more furnaces blowing and fairs occurring in Alaska as of late. Back in August there was a tournament up in Fairbanks, in September there was a tournament in Eagle River, and, as of the writing of this, there will be a tournament this month down in Soldotna (source: Palmer Chess Club Facebook page). There are talks of another tournament in November in Anchorage, and Anthony Irsik, the president of Palmer Chess Club says that there will be a tournament in Palmer sometime in the spring.
This is very different from how things were only last year “the only tournaments I heard about were our own” says Anthony “and there were a few clubs that were closing.” (personal interview) Anthony went on to talk about how the club in Fairbanks seemed to be the catalyst for growth. “Now everyone is having a tournament, and I keep hearing about clubs popping up all over the place.”
September 21st Anthony, John, and Landon from the Palmer Chess Club went to play in the Eagle River Scholastic Chess Invitational (all ages welcome). Unlike other tournaments that had been hosted in Alaska, this one encouraged something called annotation, a way of recording moves as they were made. “A couple of us at the club had been practicing for the one in October (which requires it), so it wasn’t too hard,” said Anthony. John found that some opponents decided against the recommendation “that was very nerve-wracking. . . we had the same amount of time, but they could just play. . .” (personal interview) In later rounds the organizers found a way to adjust the time to compensate those who were annotating. In the end all three of them did well earning places within the top ten: Anthony tied for 3rd, Landon got 5th, and John got 7th, (this was out of 34 competitors).
October 12th the tournament in Soldotna will have occurred “haven't really prepped for that,” says John, “but it’s going to be fun to play, hopefully, new people. . . and bond with them (over the board). Also get my rating up.” The National Chess Day Tournament in Soldotna will be officially rated by the United States Chess Federation (USCF), meaning that you need a membership with the organization to participate, but that it also opens up the opportunity to place higher on the national leaderboard. Anthony will try and place the results of the tournament a couple days after it has occurred on their Facebook page.
If you or someone you know is interested in playing or learning chess you can contact Palmer Chess Club through their Facebook Page or by emailing them at palmerchessclub@gmail.com.