Chess: A Gentleman's Game

Kelsey Carey
Features Editor

“It’s a gentleman’s game,” says the unique group that makes up the Academy’s Chess Club.

With roughly ten members total, and “six core members” the club is a casual, tight-knit group with a sincere appreciation for the game. Although senior Carlye Cole founded the club, the obvious leader of the group is junior Micah Wiesner.

Having played for the greater portion of his life, Wiesner has the most knowledge about the game and it’s history. He recently placed first in a tournament at the Rochester Chess Center, and in his spare time he studies the game and famous players.

“It’s challenging and fun,” Wiesner explains simply.

To begin the meeting, Wiesner teaches the rest of the students about a famous game, recounting the moves from memory. There’s a quiet, apparent respect among the others for Wiesner as they listen attentively, asking questions. Wiesner keeps it light and fun, patient with his fellow members.

“People who play chess are much more relaxed and laid-back,” he explains.
The club, for now is purely recreational. “We’ve only played for fun so far,” says Wiesner. “We’re really bad compared to other schools.”

Wiesner begins by explaining the famous ‘immortal game’ to the other members, giving advice such as, “It’s not how many pieces you have, it’s how you use them.” After this brief teaching session the group divides into two games: Wiesner vs. Junior Skylar Dallmeyer-Drennen, and Junior Ricky Kennedy vs. Senior Eric Moore.

When asked who the best player in the club was, the answer was unanimous. “Micah.”
This in turn led Dallmeyer-Drennen to add, “Yeah, he’s gonna destroy me.”
As both games go on the four talk about chess, as well as other things going on in school and outside of it.

“Everyone has their own playing style,” says Dallmeyer-Drennen.
“For example, my strong point is the opening,” says Wiesner, who goes on to explain that the opening is the first 10-15 moves of the game. The game is divided into three parts: The opening, the middle, and the end.

“It’s all about memorization,” explains Wiesner. “You have to predict what your opponent is going to do. For the first move alone there’s 20 different moves you can make.”
Although the group is all about fun for now, “when you get really good it gets really interesting,” says Wiesner, the only member who has played in tournaments thus far.
“When I win a game it feels amazing. When I lose I’m usually pretty angry,” He admits. “If I lose I go over the game and realize where I made my mistakes, but I usually don’t spend a lot of time on it.”

Wiesner takes a relaxed approach to the game in general. “I don’t really warm up before I play in a tournament, and I wouldn’t advise it,” he says.
When asked if he would ever play professionally if given the chance, Wiesner was quick to say he definitely would. “You actually can get an official rating of yourself [in comparison to others in the world] if you want to,” he says.

On a side note, Wiesner informs that the latest in chess news involves players competing against computers. “They had a computer called Deep Blue that beat a human.” Deep Blue in fact, was the first computer to beat a reigning world champion, Garry Kasparov in 1997.
Each member of the group seems to like the game for a different reason.
“It’s strategic and interesting,” says Dallmeyer-Drennen.

Kennedy, on the other hand, doesn’t really know why he’s drawn to the game. “ I don’t know to be honest. It’s just something I’ve always done,” he explains.
Moore likes the game for its complexity. “It’s challenging,” he states.
When asked about Wiesner, the other group members are all in agreement.
“I think he’s really good,” says Dallmeyer-Drennen.

“He’s a pretty solid teacher,” agrees Kennedy.
Moore extends on their ideas explaining, “He has a relaxed feel towards chess and it’s really approachable. He’s always open to questions.”
When asked what his favorite chess piece is, Wiesner laughs before saying, “The king I guess. Because if you lose it, you lose.”
He does however add that the knight is a favorite because “it’s the most dynamic piece.”

As predicted, Wiesner takes Dallmeyer-Drennen in one match, while Kennedy and Moore don’t have time to finish their game.
The group remains lighthearted through it all, coming to an agreement in the end that they want one thing added to their very own feature.
“[Include] a quote about hating checkers. We don’t like checkers players.”