The recent release of the movie “Searching for Bobby Fischer” has sparked an increased interest in the ancient game of chess, but chess among Lake County residents has been strong since the 1970s.
Lake County, in fact, boasts one of the few colleges in the country that offer a full chess scholarship of $11,000. Jesse Kraai of Santa Fe earned the scholarship from Shimer College in Waukegan based on his high rating by the United States Chess Federation.
“Other schools will offer football and other sports programs to draw attention,” Kraai said. “Shimer thought that for an academic setting, chess would be a better emphasis.”
And just west of Waukegan, every Friday night, about 60 chess players show up for games hosted by the College of Lake County Caveman Chess Club. The meetings, held on the Grayslake campus, last from 7:15 p.m. to midnight.
“The group can trace its roots back 50 years,” said Tim Just, president of the club and a middle-school math teacher at Jefferson Middle School in Waukegan. “About 15 years ago we found a home at College of Lake County, and we have been here ever since.”
Caveman became part of the club’s name, Just said, because of a comment made by a visiting chess master (a high-level player as rated by the United States Chess Federation) who watched in amazement as team members quickly sacrificed pieces. “He said, `You’re playing like cavemen,’ ” Just recalled. “So we decided to add it to our name. We play chess without finesse!”
Occasionally the club members even wear T-shirts with a caveman emblazoned on the front.
The club has 40 members, and usually about 60 people, members and non-members, show up to play chess on any given night. The club is open to CLC students, who pay no membership dues, and to anyone else who wants to join. Adults pay $10 a year, and high school and elementary students pay $6. “We have a 3rd-grade student who shows up from time to time,” Just said, “and we have an 8th grader who has been a consistent performer.”
Members play against each other, but Just pointed out that the club offers more than competition.
“Because we are sponsored by the college, we get a budget,” Just said, “and we are able to bring in chess masters for special instruction.”
The club also hosts a variety of tournaments throughout the year, and Just said that though he holds the title of president, running the club is a team effort.
Club member and chess master Kevin Bachler was instrumental in bringing chess tournaments to Lake County. “I learned how to play when I was 11,” he said, “and when I got to Zion-Benton Township High School (in Gurnee), I learned about rated games (games that count toward ranking in the chess federation), but all the tournaments were in downtown Chicago.”
So Bachler learned how to direct tournaments and started running them in Lake County. “During the last four to five years, I think that there has been a nice, steady but slow growth in interest in the area,” he said.
According to Just, joining the club is easy: “Just show up on a Friday night and pay your dues.”
He is a national tournament director for the United States Chess Federation, which means he had to pass an exam and work for a number of hours under a tournament director. He also is proud that one of his former students may be following in his footsteps.
Terry Pullum, 15, now a junior at Waukegan High School, already directs tournaments. He also is a member of the high school’s chess club and chess team, which is coached by math teacher Larry Hawley. His team is one of nine in the North Shore Chess League.
The team has shown remarkable improvement over the last few years, Pullum said. “Two years ago we placed last out of 57 teams in the state,” he said. “Last year we were in 21st place. We hope to do even better than that this year.”
Nationwide the fastest growing segment of chess players is among children, according to Al Lawrence, executive director of the chess federation, a not-for-profit organization headquartered in New Windsor, N.Y. “Parents and coaches and kids tell us that they see both their attitudes and grades improve” when they play chess, Lawrence said. “Children’s reading and self-esteem improve.”
Lawrence based his statements on anecdotal evidence, but a three-year study under way in New York City by the American Chess Foundation and funded by the IBM Corp. has shown a dramatic increase in reading scores among inner-city students who were introduced to chess, an increase much greater than that achieved by inner-city youngsters not introduced to the game, according to Allen Kaufman, executive director of the foundation.
In the last year, membership of children in the chess federation doubled to 20,000; total membership in the organization is about 70,000. The organization publishes a magazine for students, School Mates, which young members receive as part of their yearly membership.
In addition to the many tournaments held throughout the country under the auspices of the federation, the organization also coordinates correspondence chess tournaments among children.
In Lake County, elementary school children who are interested in the game can join the Caveman Chess Club. Elementary school teams are not common in the county; many more are found in Du Page and Kane Counties. Coaches in those counties said it takes a lot of dedication, because the season is longer than other sports seasons, running from October through March.
Interest in the chess federation grows each year. The rematch late last year between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky and now the movie have helped fuel that interest.
