Saint John’s Prep Chess Club Moves Online

As the entire St. John’s Prep community, along with much of the world, was forced to adjust to the challenges of distance learning, we all had to work together to adapt to this new reality. With the dedication and determination of our administration, teachers, and students, Saint John’s Prep has been successful in maintaining some sense of normality. As President of the Saint John’s Prep Chess Club, I decided to contribute to this effort by hosting an online weekly chess tournament in place of our typical Tuesday meetings. Not only do these Tuesday afternoon tournaments give us all a chance to use and improve our chess skills, we also have a chance to interact with our classmates and teachers. These tournaments are continuing to grow, with more and more members of the school community participating. We have even had a number of teachers compete against our club members with varying degrees of success. A variety of different players have come out on top and held the title of  “Weekly Chess Champion.” Each tournament is played with five games in a five minute blitz format which really keeps things moving.

An added element to the tournaments that has provided a lot of fun and entertainment over the last couple of weeks is the live streaming of the matches and the running commentary by Mr. Grandy, our chess advisor, and Mr. Miller, esport enthusiast. Their insights on the games are not to be missed and are no doubt entertaining to our growing number of viewers. The live streaming has given those who are more comfortable viewing, instead of competing, a chance to participate as well. The tournament has been very well-received, and hopefully it has provided our community with entertainment during these unpredictable times.

All ages and ability levels are welcome, so if you would like to try your hand at a Tuesday afternoon of chess just let us know. You can watch live or watch past events on the Saint John’s Prep esports twitch page: https://www.twitch.tv/sjpesports/.

Alton Mies
Class of 2021
Saint John’s Preparatory School

 

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