New Castle Chess Club

New Castle Chess Club

Did you know we had a chess club here at New Castle? Well, we do and they are awesome! I got to sit down and interview Mr. Bradley and Dr. Carson, the advisers who are in charge. Check out the interview!

B= Mr. Bradley

C= Dr. Carson

 

Q: How long have you been playing chess?

B- A long time… I think I learned to play in 3rd grade, maybe 4th?

C-I have played chess off and on for fun since I was a teenager.  You could say 30 years. 

 

Q: What made you want to advise the chess team?

B-It started out as something for students to do during the “Activity period” that was part of the schedule. Mr. Quimby and I started out just supervising and buying chess sets, and it grew from there. We’re happy to teach anyone who wants to learn how to play or get better at it

 C-I didn’t know I was an advisor to it, but I am happy to help out. 

 

Q: What made you want to start playing chess?

B-I don’t really remember, probably just looking for something fun more than tic-tac-toe, checkers, dots, or hangman

C- I like to play aggressively, but I play for fun and don’t usually memorize specific moves or strategies.  I hadn’t played for years but my son got me back into it.  Honestly, I just didn’t have anyone to play with for a long time.  

 

Q: Are there any strategies for the game?

B-There are lots of strategies, that’s part of the fun! After 5 moves, there are about 5,000,000 different possible games. You can learn specific openings or tactics, but no one can ever completely master the game

 

Q: Can you win any major awards for playing?

B-There is everything from local tournaments to international competitions with multi-million dollar prizes. There’s a 2 million Euro (over $2M) competition next month

C- I have never won any awards for playing chess nor have I ever entered any tournaments.  I just play for fun.  

 

Q: How long has New Castle had a chess team?

B-We don’t really have a team, just a club for anyone who wants to play, and we usually run a tournament near the end of the year. I don’t know when it went from “anyone wants to play chess?” to being a club, but about 15 years ago. Covid interrupted it but now it’s back

C-I do not know how long the after-school chess club has been at New Castle.

 

Q: When does the chess team meet and play?

B-Pretty much every day after school, so long as one of the advisors is here and we’re not in meetings

C-The Chess club meets at the school in Mr. Quimby’s room after school every day.  Sometimes I make it down, other times I am busy.  I also meet at the public library on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month at 2:30.  I am always there on Saturday and we play for about 1.5 hours. The library chess club started only a month or two ago.

 

Q: Do you want us to make any announcements about Chess here at NC?

B-Just that everyone is welcome. Anyone can learn, and everyone can play

C- I would just like everyone to know about the club.  It seems there is plenty of interest, but only a few people show up to the club. 

 

If you want to check out the Chess Club make sure you talk with Mr. Bradley in room 210 or Dr. Carson in room 213. Thanks for reading the article Canes!