Closer Look Series: The Chess Club at UIC

[NARRATOR] Chess, a famous sport originating before the year 600 CE, holds a special place in the hearts of many people. The competitive board game found a place here at the University of Illinois Chicago. We’ve interviewed board members to give you a closer look at the chess club here at UIC.

So can you introduce yourself for us?

[SENNA] Yeah. So my name is Senna Kawji, I’m part of the class of 2024, and I’m also an executive board member at Chess Club (UIC).

[MARIAM] That’s awesome! So how did you get into playing chess?

[SENNA] So my friends were playing chess, and I was curious because they’re having a lot of fun. Then I asked my dad to teach me how to play and he taught me how to play. And I’ve been playing since November 2021.

[MARIAM] That’s great! How often do you play chess?

[SENNA] So I try to play a game every day, on Lichess.org or Chess.com. There are weekly tournaments every couple of hours.

[MARIAM] Do you think chess is easy?

I think it’s easy to learn how to play, but it’s a lot harder to win the games. Here, let me show you the way to the Chess Club! So today, we are at Inner Circle. The chess club meets either here (Inner Circle) in Student Center East or in rooms throughout Student Center east, and we meet from 5 to 7. So in addition to being on the board for the UIC Chess Club, I’m also an ambassador for Chess.com’s Collegiate Chess League. This league is made up of college teams that play each other and prize tournaments, one of which has a $25,000 prize fund. They also supply these universities with free merchandise for their clubs, which is a nice addition to the chess team. And I’m proud to say that UIC is competing and that hopefully, we can win some cash!

[DAVID] Hi, my name is David Perez. My major is biology (Pre-Med), and I’m part of the UIC” chess team, as you can see. And I’ve been playing chess for quite a long time. I’ve been playing for like ten years-ish. I started in third grade because my teacher told me, and then from there on, there was this guy I knew, like my family knew, he was a coach he coached us throughout my elementary and then through high school too. And then I just felt like I felt the passion between me and chess and I just kept continuing it. I played for the team in high school and [the team] here, and I just play in my free time too.

[SHAAN] I like chess because it’s like a strategy game, you know, it’s like it’s a lot more than what people think, and it’s like a distraction from everyday schooling, like classes and exams. Yeah, it’s very, it’s very intricate. There’s a lot of moves. It’s more than just moving pieces around. I really like that there are just so many different counters and openings that you could do. And you know, if you join the UIC Chess Club, you can play tournaments, play with friends. It’s pretty relaxed.

[ISAIAH] You can always get better at chess because the point of a lot of the game is just to get better and play against stronger people. And get stronger, and just go through that loop.

[DEVAM] I like the competitive nature of the board game and how it helps my brain develop.

[ALBERT] My name is Albert. I’m a sophomore at UIC. I’m currently studying computer science and I joined the chess club here because I played four years in high school.” And the reason I like chess so much is that it really develops my strategic skill, and I really like the community around it.

[MANASVI] I like chess because it’s a pretty fun game to play. Like, all the different pieces have their own like set of rules and it’s pretty cool to set them up in like different formations and things like that. I’m not very good, but I do like playing with other people and seeing how they move and how I can move against them. It’s fun doing tactics like that. As for my background,I learned how to play chess actually from my uncle. He taught me, like I remember specifically, he taught me how like the horse, the rook…

[RABYA] The knight.

[MANASVI] The knight moved, and after I learned that, I was like, whoa! Like these kind of move normal, like diagonal, straight, whatever.” But then, like, the horse, I was like, it moves in an L?! That’s crazy! But yeah, like, after learning that, I kind of got, like, hooked a little bit.” I like playing it with people mainly. I know Chess.com has gotten pretty popular, but I tend to really enjoy playing it only if I’m playing it on a board.

[RABYA] My name is Rabya and I’m a senior majoring in biology and I like that it’s a game of strategy that it’s very individualized and you can really see your results. I feel like a lot of board games are kind of team players and you don’t really get to see a reflection of your results as straightforward as you do with chess, so that’s why I like chess. And I started getting into it, I’d say when I was pretty young, my brother introduced me to it. He’s a lot more skilled at it than I am, but I just like playing with him, even though I usually lose. But I just like the game and the fun that comes along with it.

[RYAN] Hi guys, my name is Ryan. I’m a graduate student here at UIC and I like chess because it’s a place where we all hang out and we have fun every day and we all foster an inclusive environment for everyone who wants to play chess, no matter what level or what skill. And we all just have fun!

[SHAAN] And you know Chess Club, it’s pretty chill. Like you don’t have to be really good or have any other experience. You can just come play. We have food [at] most events, especially when we get a room. So it’s pretty relaxing. So our board members teach if you are a beginner and yeah, we have different people from different majors, different backgrounds who’ve never played, and we have people who’ve been playing their whole life. So it doesn’t really matter like anything. And you know, it’s mainly a strategic game like if you know what the pieces do, you can improve every single week. So that’s what we do here. We have tournaments sometimes, so it’s pretty fun. It’s not too competitive unless you want to play competitive, in which case we can. But overall, it’s pretty chill, and it’s pretty relaxing. So come on out. Thank you!

[SENNA] Regardless, I think it’s a fun experience and everyone should try.

[SENNA] Hey! They changed the elevator thing: it’s for Chess!