Dan Zajdel has been playing chess since he was 8 years of age.  “I think It’s interesting that here on the peninsula, we are able to participate in a growing national trend, maybe even without realizing it.”  After the 2020 Netfilx drama “The Queen’s Gambit”, the game saw its biggest boom in the United States since American Bobby Fischer won the World Chess Championship in 1972.  Chess club memberships are now soaring and earlier this year Chess.com servers overloaded when it had the most active users ever.

The origins of chess go back to the 7th century. It started in India then spread to Persia, where it was modified and taken up by the Muslim world and subsequently spread to Europe via Spain and Italy. The game evolved roughly into its current form by about 1500 CE. 

The success of chess is due in part to its multi-generational appeal. “We attract players from 12-70 with a range of abilities” Zajdel continues, “ and the youngest aren't necessarily the least experienced! In fact last week, a Summer visitor who is a member of the Marshall Chess Club in NYC beat me….he is 9!”

“We have a dedicated core of players that shows up to our drop-in Chess Club at the Library week to week, but also during the Summertime we get visitors to the region along with seasonal workers from Eastern European countries that have a strong tradition of playing chess.” 

People don’t need to bring anything along to the club other than a curious mind and a willingness to participate. “The library provides boards, not only for the classes, but also to check-out and take home as part of their “Library of Things.” We welcome complete beginners to the game and can talk them through the basics, but the library also has some great books for beginners that can often get people started. It doesn’t take very long to figure out where someone’s skill level is at and we try to match them with players of equal strength.”

The main purpose of the club is to have some fun and show that there are some real benefits to the game. Zajdel has experienced this firsthand. “Chess, math and music all use similar parts of the brain. Obviously in chess you are thinking ahead, using strategy and pattern recognition. My three sons played chess from 2nd grade and are all excellent musicians. I like to think that isn’t all coincidence.” A lot of pro athletes are also now playing chess as they say it helps them with defensive tactics. In fact there is a lot of overlap between athletics and the forward thinking of chess. 

“There is a psychological component when you are playing a person across the board that you don’t necessarily get when you are playing on a computer. You can read the body language, where you can’t read those clues when you are playing on a screen. Chess.com is a great resource, but you are probably going to be a better player long term if you do both, playing online and in-person. By playing regularly and playing better players you can improve the quality of your game dramatically. We have 8-10 players regularly now, but would like to expand that to 20. Ultimately, our goal is to continue to grow the group and have others experience the thrill of this timeless game. ”

Chess Club meets year-round every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library, 4 Oak Street, Boothbay Harbor; (207) 633-3112.