“I wanted to start a chess club to teach my friends this amazing, yet relatively unpopular, game,” says Bennett Malo, who co-leads the club with Neil Vasandani and Jerry Xu.

Supervised by math teacher and fellow chess enthusiast Mr. Austin, the club currently has 22 members ranging from third- to sixth-formers. The club meets every Friday evening at 6.30 P.M.

Malo says that what makes the Chess Club unique is that it fosters a “collaborative learning community.” This collaborative spirit is evident in every session where advanced players are encouraged to teach beginners. For instance, at a recent club meeting, one of the club leaders walked a beginner through the “King and Rook Mate,” patiently demonstrating how to utilize the collaboration between his King and Rook to force the opponent’s King into the corner and checkmate.

The Chess Club aims to have a positive impact on the Kent community. Playing chess encourages strategic planning and problem-solving, which aligns perfectly with Kent’s “Critical and Creative Thinking” core competency. It also fosters face-to-face interaction, which is vital in a world dominated by screens. The Chess Club has ambitious expansion plans. “My goal is to eventually organize a school-wide chess tournament,” Malo shared. Vasandani agreed with this proposal: “I want to unleash everyone’s potential.” The Chess Club is currently working to make chess one of the Blue Key activities on weekends and a dorm event.

While the leaders are focused on the club’s future, their own philosophies for individual games were deeply rooted in resilience and spirit. The leaders’ final piece of advice to players, both on and off the chessboard: “Never resign.” Although resigning may appear to be a dignified way to lose, the act of lying low, biding one’s time, and waiting for the opportune moment to make a comeback truly demonstrates strength of spirit and resilience. Life is much the same: things are unpredictable, and anything is possible. Therefore, remain calm and composed when facing your opponent, because even if victory is not guaranteed, as long as you give it your all, you will have no regrets. After all, as former world chess champion Garry Kasparov famously said, “Chess is life in miniature.”