By Katie Kormanik
Salt Lake City

May 17, 2010

Perhaps we Utah chess enthusiasts could do like Dallas Chess Club to boost our own chess scene, especially among the youngsters. Every Wednesday and Friday, Dallas Chess Club (DCC) hosts an open rated tournament, an excellent oportunity for up-and-coming chess players to practice competing and gain rating points. After losing to a 2100-rated 9-year-old, I thought about how inspiring these small tournaments must be for the kids.

There are three G/30 rounds at the Wednesday tournaments and four G/30 rounds at the Friday tournaments. Friday is the most popular with 200-300 people attending, most of them elementary-aged kids. Class prizes are given out at the end with the amount based on attendance.

This opportunity to regularly compete, earn rating points, and win money provides an excellent incentive for kids to continue playing chess. (Note: This time control allows for both regular and quick rating adjustments.) Trophies are, as one chessman from my past put it, merely dust collectors. Accumulating rating points may play a bigger role in encourating our kids to continue playing. Another attractive feature of regular tournaments is of course the opportunity for kids to see their chess buddies, and we all know that chess buddies last a lifetime.

One advantage that the Dallas chess scene has over that of Salt Lake's is its own clubhouse/headquarters, owned by DCC and where all the tournaments take place. Many cities with solid chess populations have such an amentiy. (If you're ever in San Diego, check out their building. The San Diego Chess Club is one of the best in the nation and their Saturday G/40 Gambitos are well attended, by some of whom are IMs and GMs.) It would be nice if Salt Lake City had its own "chessquarters" too.

Regardless of whether or not we have a building of our own, I think weekly regular-rated tournaments with money prizes, rather than scholastic tournaments with trophy prizes, is a good idea. Let's get more kids playing!