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2001 The Hamilton Spectator. All rights reserved.
It used to be that, if Hamilton kids wanted to play chess, they would have to get their parents to take them to cities far away from home such as Oakville and Kitchener.
All that travelling became tiring, and frustrating. So Iris Murray, her son Simon and his friend Adam Flynn decided to take matters into their own hands to bring a chess club to Hamilton.
"We had to travel for tournaments, there was nothing local ... we wanted something closer to Hamilton." Simon said.
Eleven-year-old Flynn had played chess on the Internet because real tournament players took the game a bit "too seriously."
The trio called their club Check Mates and it is open to anyone between the ages of 6 and 16. You don't have to be a pro to play and beginners are more than welcome.
Dianne Scudetto's nine-year-old daughter played chess for the first time on March 5. "She's seen her brother play (chess before), and has wanted to play too, but has been too intimidated. Here, it is a friendly atmosphere and she saw that there were other girls playing, which made her want to play."
That was a big part of what Murray wanted. "I want to make girls feel comfortable. Chess is a left brain thing, some girls are good at it, but it's mostly a boy thing."
Murray was happy because out of 46 kids, six of them were girls. Twenty-seven of the 46 players had pre-registered.
Everyone who played won a prize. Prizes were donated by The Reptile Store, ExploraToy and MicroPlay. Other sponsors included Y95.3, CHML 900 and Honey's Restaurant on Upper James, where the action took place.
Honey's manager, Maureen Wright said that both she and owner Larry Pacifico were more than happy to hold the chess club at Honey's.
"For 30 years in the United States, Honey's Restaurant has been very community minded, so this was an easy decision. It's just something Honey's does." Wright explained.
Honey's was the ideal location for the club for Murray. "Here the kids can play chess, while dad has a beer or plays snooker right in the same room."
If you are worried that you missed your chance to play, you haven't. Check Mates meets again on April 22. If you'd like to be a sponsor for Check Mates, or you'd like to help organize the next match, or to buy tickets for the next Check Mates meet, call Murray at 572-7827.
Sarah Millar can be reached at smillar@hamiltonspectator.com.
[Illustration]
Caption: Photo: Ted Brellisford, the Hamilton Spectator; Forty-six kids, some as young as six, got together to contemplate the game of chess at the first meeting of Check Mates.
Credit: Special To The Hamilton Spectator
2001 The Hamilton Spectator. All rights reserved.
It used to be that, if Hamilton kids wanted to play chess, they would have to get their parents to take them to cities far away from home such as Oakville and Kitchener.
All that travelling became tiring, and frustrating. So Iris Murray, her son Simon and his friend Adam Flynn decided to take matters into their own hands to bring a chess club to Hamilton.
"We had to travel for tournaments, there was nothing local ... we wanted something closer to Hamilton." Simon said.
Eleven-year-old Flynn had played chess on the Internet because real tournament players took the game a bit "too seriously."
The trio called their club Check Mates and it is open to anyone between the ages of 6 and 16. You don't have to be a pro to play and beginners are more than welcome.
Dianne Scudetto's nine-year-old daughter played chess for the first time on March 5. "She's seen her brother play (chess before), and has wanted to play too, but has been too intimidated. Here, it is a friendly atmosphere and she saw that there were other girls playing, which made her want to play."
That was a big part of what Murray wanted. "I want to make girls feel comfortable. Chess is a left brain thing, some girls are good at it, but it's mostly a boy thing."
Murray was happy because out of 46 kids, six of them were girls. Twenty-seven of the 46 players had pre-registered.
Everyone who played won a prize. Prizes were donated by The Reptile Store, ExploraToy and MicroPlay. Other sponsors included Y95.3, CHML 900 and Honey's Restaurant on Upper James, where the action took place.
Honey's manager, Maureen Wright said that both she and owner Larry Pacifico were more than happy to hold the chess club at Honey's.
"For 30 years in the United States, Honey's Restaurant has been very community minded, so this was an easy decision. It's just something Honey's does." Wright explained.
Honey's was the ideal location for the club for Murray. "Here the kids can play chess, while dad has a beer or plays snooker right in the same room."
If you are worried that you missed your chance to play, you haven't. Check Mates meets again on April 22. If you'd like to be a sponsor for Check Mates, or you'd like to help organize the next match, or to buy tickets for the next Check Mates meet, call Murray at 572-7827.
Sarah Millar can be reached at smillar@hamiltonspectator.com.
[Illustration]
Caption: Photo: Ted Brellisford, the Hamilton Spectator; Forty-six kids, some as young as six, got together to contemplate the game of chess at the first meeting of Check Mates.
Credit: Special To The Hamilton Spectator