In an unexpected turn of events, I found myself at the head of a new student organization during my sophomore year. I'd picked up chess as a hobby over the summer, playing the occasional odd game down at a local library. Despite the defeats I suffered at the hands of the grizzled veterans there, my interest never faded. It might've been the variations that captivated me. There was a name for everything; a sense of order that governed the mental war of the sport.
It could have also been how welcoming the members of that club were to new players. I'd been a part of a different kind of club in high school, but I had known most of its participants for years. The group at the library never felt like strangers. A volunteer working there dutifully provided everyone with freshly brewed coffee, all the while attending to his other responsibilities. Another player, a former doctor, let me borrow his books on strategy that he'd collected over many decades, just so I could accelerate my progress when I wasn't working my summer job.
Chess clubs can certainly attract eccentric individuals, but they also count among their ranks kind-hearted players with a sincere passion for the game. This made it all the more difficult to leave when it came time for the fall semester at my university. The pawn-pushers I had come to know were nearly all retired. They could afford to spend their days preparing for a new match every week. As much as I had grown attached to the club and its members, academics needed to take priority. And the class schedule fixed for that year didn't allow for absences based on enthusiasm for board games.
The next best thing would be to start a club like that one if it didn't exist on campus already. In some cases, it was even the most ideal option because I'd be able to decide when and where the new club would meet at the time of its creation. Through the help of my roommates, we managed to contact the former advisor (and a titled player) of the previous university club, print out posters, and organize a student organization on campus that's just starting its second year.
There was certainly a thrill in printing out the first posters, mostly due to the creative places we managed to hang them up around campus. Typically, official club posters were supposed to be confined to specific bulletin boards. Since we weren't official at the time, we figured they'd be better placed suspended from ceiling hallways, taped to classroom walls, and strewn about other high-traffic areas of campus.
Although it seems like a lot of responsibility to start your own club from scratch, there are plenty of memories that you'll make along the way. The environment you create might even be a place for incoming students to turn, as they look for a way to connect with others.
Looking back, it was well worth the time and effort my roommates and I put into establishing it. We were able to bring staff and students together under a common interest and found a group that will continue to draw members as long as there are passionate individuals with an appreciation for the game of chess.
