I believe that Bishop’s should start a chess club. As it stands, in order to meet new people playing chess at the university, the best way to do so would be through the Games Club. While this is a good way to start playing games of chess, it is difficult to grow in aptitude and competence with this format. The Games Club serves as a good entry point for people who have little to no experience in chess and are interested in playing a few matches for the novelty of the game.

Unfortunately, having no clear direction with chess within the club makes it difficult for players to improve. The main reason for this is the complexity and depth of chess. Beyond simply understanding the mechanics of the game, there is a great deal of understanding to be obtained about openings, tactics, and general strategies in chess. These three major elements contribute to an opportunity for stylistic play, in-depth study, and long-term improvement.

By introducing a club specifically dedicated to chess, students who are interested in improving at chess would have a staging ground to play with like-minded people and learn details of the game with one another. Having a focused place for learning chess allows people to learn together and grow at a similar rate. By tying chess in with the board game club, players would improve very gradually as they would slowly meander towards an optimized playstyle through unguided practice. This method is very inefficient for skill improvement as it is effectively a “guess and check” with unreliable results. Having group lessons or group practice would create a more focused form of practice while creating a source of community.

An official chess club would also be able to hold chess tournaments. This would create a service that generates its own demand. In wanting to improve and win at tournaments, students would be more inclined to attend meetings and lessons. This is also a relatively simple and consistent event to run that would draw in students in the chess community as well as new students who have a history with chess. This sort of event is far more difficult to implement in the Games Club as that club oversees a greater scope of variety in games. As a result, it does not make sense for the Games Club to host consistent tournaments. 

Due to the nature of chess and the focus it demands in order to yield great results, a new club should be formed for chess players in Bishop’s. The formation of this club would be an excellent opportunity for building a new community of chess players from the Games Club. These elements would also be greatly complimented by the ease to run events for such a club. A greater quantity of clubs on in-depth hobbies would greatly enrich the community on campus.