Eighteen competitors entered a five-hour chess tournament at the Levy Senior Center Saturday. They entered without the promise of prize money, trophies or titles – only for their love to “move the pieces.”
But the players are no amateurs. Three champions of their respective divisions met at the monthly competition, although two of them can only reach the waist of the third. Mark Jutovsky, the 35-year-old reigning Class A chess champion of Illinois, has been playing chess since long before Conrad Oberhaus, 8, and Zachary Holecek, 9, were born. But at the Evanston Chess Club, Jutovsky is still a newcomer compared to the members who played their first matches more than 50 years ago.
The club blends competitive games and a casual atmosphere, an anomaly in a chess world dominated increasingly by Web-based play and cash prizes, said Maret Thorpe, the club co-leader and founder.
“The club was intended to be a community gathering place, sort of a break-even proposition,” Thorpe said. “Our members like the game. They’re serious, but the point of the club was where people could play in a friendly, inexpensive environment.”
Competitive chess has become costly, Thorpe said. Some tournaments, such as the Illinois State Championship, charge entry fees that range between $40-$65 and award thousands of dollars in prize money. TheEvanston Chess Club, founded in January of 2007, holds open play Tuesday nights and organizes tournaments with $5 entry fees.
Even though members come for the collegial atmosphere, many boast impressive competitive records. Jutovsky learned the game when he was 10, and is now returning to competition after a brief break.
“Everyone here is very friendly,” he said. “The community is one of the main reasons why I come.”
Players are seeded based on points accumulated in United States Chess Federation-sanctioned tournaments. Everyone plays three 40-minute matches based on rank. After the initial pairing based on ranking, lower-seeded players are pitted against higher seeds. Victors play two additional games in the winner’s bracket, and the player with the most victories is declared the overall winner.
Before the first round match-ups are posted, Conrad and Zachary casually play a warm-up match with one another. Though they are still in elementary school, both want to one day become chess masters.
“It feels like you worked all of this time really hard, and this time you won,” Conrad said of his Illinois victory last year.
Tony Christian drove more than an hour from the South Side to play. Entrants of previous tournaments have trekked from Michigan and Wisconsin, Thorpe said.
“There just aren’t a lot of tournaments where I live, and I’m a single guy, so I have the time,” Christian said. “It’s a great crowd of people.”
Bruce Potratz, one of the 30 members of the club, has been playing chess for 52 years. He didn’t enter the tournament; he just came to socialize and watch.
“With the advent of chess, clubs have been diminished, but this one is growing,” he said. “With the removal of money, you get people who have a love of the game.”
Potratz described the chess community as “humble and gentlemanly.”
“They have huge accomplishments, but they’d never draw attention to them,” he said.
