Yesterday, at Wegmans a number of us were able to meet and play Michael, a graduate student from Niagara University. He told us that there are a few chess players there who meet informally but regularly.
I had mentioned to him, that there ought to be an officially recognized club on campus as I am sure that such recognition would boost participation on campus and in the area.
At the last Marchand tournament in Rochester, we had meet a young man who will be enrolling in Niagara this fall and had hoped that there was a chess club there.
There has been a great amount of interest nationally in collegiate chess as evidenced by the recent Chess Life cover. Highlights include: more schools offering college scholarships for talented chess players, the coummunity college from Dade County Florida beating the Ivy League Schools, the annual battle between UMD-Baltimore vs. UT-Dallas for the college championship, GM Susan Polgar moving to Texas to start a program at Texas Tech.
So what could be done to get a chess club at Niagara? Perhaps even a team? Would UB be ready to be challenged too?
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Nice to hear about a few more interested students. Having a team will be a great for chess. That sets a goal and should create more motivation.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, I wanted to know if we could meet at Wegmans on Wednesdays during the summer to replace the break in meet at the NCCC.
I plan on being at Wegmans on Wednesdays during the summer.
ReplyDeleteI plan on being at Wegmans on Wednesdays during the summer... even now my army is preparing for battle! See you in the black and white jungle!! JD
ReplyDeleteThats great that we can meet at Wegmans on Wednesdays.
ReplyDeletePlan to be there? Whate else.
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Dear NUCC members:
ReplyDeleteI came accross your page while browsing on the web. Your problem is a common one. If I may make some suggestions.
1. Involve the community. Go out to the local schools and teach chess a couple times a week. This gets parents involved and community leaders interested.
2. Play in the Internet College Chess Championships. These have been played on the Internet Chess Club (www.chessclub.com). Students have gotten free accounts while playing and then a great discount after the tournament is over. This a great way to recruit new members. There are two kinds of College Chess Internet tournaments: individual and team. I recommend team (and have everyone play in one room on campus not from home).
3. Raise funds for chess scholarships. This can be done by applying for funds inside the university and through donations from local companies.
Start small and it will build. But remember you must include community service of some sort in order to change the image of your club as nothing more than another "gaming club".
Best regards,
Dr. H. R. Karlsson
Associate Professor in Geosciences, TTU
Member of the SPICE group
Founder of the ICC Iceland Group
Member of the USCF College Chess Committee
Look for me as SPICE on ICC or TexasTechU.
If you can spread the game of chess to schools and get children involved, chess will be revived in Niagara Falls completely. But not just universities, it should be introduced to elementary, middle, and high schools as well. As the children grow up with chess, it will gradually come back to the city, the city of Niagara Falls.
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