Ready, Set, Checkmate!

The Fair Grove Eagles Chess club is flying across the board and preparing for the upcoming 2021-2022 season with enthusiasm, after a year without leaving the nest to compete. 

As the 2021-2022 school year begins, clubs across the Fair Grove School District are beginning once again. One of the many clubs that call Fair Grove home is the chess club. The chess club has been a part of the school for many years and was originally sponsored by the former middle school ELA teacher Donna Wilson. Wilson retired after the 2016-2017 school year, resulting in Michael VanCleave, the high school geometry, pre-calc, and computer science teacher, taking over as sponsor of the club.

Like many other extracurricular activities, friendly competition is expected and encouraged. chess club is no exception to that rule. Chess club hosts and attends chess tournaments in both the fall and spring semesters throughout southwest Missouri. The Fair Grove Chess Club falls under the district bounds of the Southwest Missouri Chess League. VanCleave gave insight into how a typical chess tournament runs. VanCleave explained, “A typical tournament consists of 40-50 players from various schools. Players are initially paired randomly…” VanCleave additionally stated, “ If you win your match you earn 1 pt for your team, and if you get a stalemate (like a tie), you earn 1/2 point for your team.  The team with the most points at the end wins the tournament.”

This year the Fair Grove Chess Club will be attending six tournaments during the 2021-2022 school year. Three tournaments will be during the fall semester and the other three tournaments will be held in the spring. Jesse Elliston (8), a chess club member since the beginning of middle school, expressed that he had competed in several tournaments around the Southwest Missouri Chess league. “ I originally joined the chess club because  I was interested and thought it was cool. So I joined and learned how to play,” stated Elliston. 

As the students grow older and closer with each passing year, the members of the club began to develop a family dynamic. VanCleave explained, “ I feel like we have a bit of a family dynamic, and I hope that grows as we play together in tournaments this year…” Currently, the chess club has 15 members in total, VanCleave hopes to keep growing before the end of the fall season. Ready or not, the team is maneuvering to make this year a successful season.