Even if you don't know much about chess, you'll have likely heard about chess clubs. After all, no matter what game or hobby you're interested in, there's likely a club for it.
With chess, chess clubs are a way for players to get together and play matches, but there's much more to it than that.
Let's have a look at some of the reasons you should join a chess club and what the benefits are of being a member.
Learn to Play Chess
One of the most important reasons to join a chess club is to learn how to play chess. Chess clubs are great for kids as they can learn how to play the game and may end up being members of a chess club their entire lives.
Adults and seniors can also learn how to play chess at chess clubs but it should be noted that some clubs require a minimum level before you can join which means you may have to learn the basics elsewhere.
You may have to learn the fundamentals of the game and how to play elsewhere, but once you know how all the pieces move and want to take your chess playing more seriously, a chess club is also a great place to learn how to really play.
It's always a good idea to check what the requirements are before joining a chess club and while most chess clubs are very welcoming to new players and happy to help, some mightn't be suitable for newer players because of the high quality of their members.
Meet People who Love to Play Chess
Chess clubs are also very social. Admittedly, these clubs are for playing chess first and foremost, but they're also places for getting together with other people who share a love for the game.
As you only need a chess set to play chess, you'll find that chess clubs are open to people of all backgrounds and are a great place to meet lots of different and interesting people.
If you regularly play chess online, for example, you'll find that joining a chess club offers a completely different way to play and, for many, this is a much more enjoyable way to play.
In this day and age, it can also be nice to have something that gets you out of the house and is something that a lot of chess club members look forward to each week. Attending chess club is an important part of a lot of members' social calendars and for many, the highlight of their week.
For the kinds of people who find it easy to give something up, regularly attending a chess club can also help you keep playing chess because you'll have a good reason to each week. While you mightn't attend chess club every single week of the year, having a routine can help an awful lot.
Improve Your Chess Game with Others
You can attend a chess club because you love playing chess and want to play regularly with others. For most chess players, however, improving is an important part of playing matches and you and your fellow chess club members will all have a vested interest in each other's progress.
During your time as a chess club member, you'll see your and the other members' games improve. Whether you do this by playing against the other players in your club, studying the game, or sharing advice with one another, you'll have lots of opportunities to get better at chess.
It can also help a lot to have other people spurring you on to get better. Staying motivated can be difficult, but with chess club friends supporting you, you're far less likely to give up and far more likely to improve.
Practise Playing Chess with Good Opponents
One way to improve your playing is by playing matches against others. While you can always play against friends or family members or even online, in a chess club, you'll have a regular rotation of players to play and practise against.
You learn far more from a loss than a victory and if your chess club has a good level of players, you'll likely see your game improve a lot by often playing against them. Whether you win or lose, you'll have an opportunity to learn and improve.
Depending on the chess club, there should still be a good number of advanced players and while some may be of too high a level to play against when you first start, you'll improve a lot by playing against advanced players when you can.
Attend Chess Events
As a member of a chess club, you'll have opportunities to attend chess events and play in chess tournaments.
Tournament play is different to casual play as you'll need to record your moves, use a chess clock, and follow other tournament rules such as the “touch rule”.
At chess clubs, you'll be able to practise and play in tournament conditions and while you don't necessarily have to be a member of a chess club to attend certain tournaments, it usually helps for players to be members of either a chess club or association.
Play Chess on a Real Board
This advantage may sound a bit silly, but in the modern age, it's very common to play chess online. One of the huge advantages of chess is that it's the same game whether you play it on a computer or on a board.
While the game functions identically in its analogue and digital versions, the experience is very different and for a lot of players, playing OTB (over the board) is preferable to playing on a computer, phone, or tablet.
It can be far more enjoyable playing face-to-face with people and even just enjoying the tactile sensation of moving your pieces in the real world, something that you can't replicate digitally.
Study Chess
It's very common for chess clubs to have books and resources for playing chess. This means that you can improve your chess game even if you're not playing against the other members of your chess club.
Whether you want to sit and read about chess tactics, study openings, or look at historic matches and how they were won, you can do this at a chess club.
While playing chess is obviously the main reason you'd attend a chess club, you can still study and improve your game between your matches or take a break after a loss to study what cost you the match.
Much like a library, some chess clubs will even let you borrow resources and equipment. If there's a chess book or manual that you want to take home and read or a chess set that you'd want to take home to practise with, your club might let you borrow them until next week.
What Are the Disadvantages of Joining a Chess Club
To make it clear, we certainly believe that the advantages of joining a chess club far outweigh the disadvantages, but for the sake of fairness, there are a few downsides that we need to mention.
For one, you should know that chess clubs aren't free. In most cases, chess clubs across Australia are fairly affordable and only cost a few dollars to attend plus a yearly membership fee that tends to be around $25 to $30.
Of course, the cost of membership also needs to be added to the cost of getting there and depending on where you live, your trip to your chess club might be some distance away, costing you both time and money. Fortunately, most people can easily find a local chess club.
For those who live remotely, chess clubs may not be a viable option or there mightn't even be a chess club in your area. However, with the internet, finding nearby chess players and starting a club should be easier than it's ever been.
Your local club may also have prerequisites that you don't quite meet yet. If you're very new to chess and the nearest club doesn't really offer anything for new players, you can't really enjoy the benefits of improving your game at the club.
In this case, though, you can always practise online, play matches on the internet, and gain a decent level in chess and then join the club as soon as you meet their requirements.
If you're struggling to reach a good enough level to join a club, you can also look for private chess tutors. There are chess tutors and coaches all over the country and around the world and you can get face-to-face tutoring or online tutoring to help you learn how to play chess and improve your game enough so that you can join your local chess club.
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
Nice concise summary. I’m looking to get back in to chess and this gives me a few pointers.
I love my chess match
I am a chess player
Dear chess friends,
This is a good informative article about chess clubs and the advantages and disadvantages of joining a club. It was well written – I’m looking at and reading it as a retired journalist with 25-plus years in the newspaper business. I just got back into playing chess after an 13-year hiatus and I thought of joining a club here in Ames, Iowa, USA. I didn’t realize that you folks are “down under” until I got near the bottom of the article and the writer brought up the issue of traveling a ways to get to a club: obviously a reality that a number of you Aussie’s (is that OK to say “Aussie’s?) have to deal with.
I enjoyed reading your article and it answered many questions that I had about possibly joining a chess club.
Thanks again and keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Jonathan Lloyd