Utah State’s chess club continues to say ‘checkmate’
Utah State’s chess club has taken the college chess market by storm. With weekly practices and online tournaments, the members of the chess club have practiced strategy, openings and the different ways to “check” their opponent in competition.
Throughout their most recent competitions, the chess club has remained unbeatable against colleges in Texas and California. According to some members of the chess team, their winning streak isn’t just due to the time they spend with the chess board.
Carson Richards shared how impactful it is to play against other people to further learn about the game’s complexities.
“For me personally, I initially viewed chess as a really deep game that you can really get into,” Richards said. “It kind of blew my mind with how much you can actually learn about one game. The game itself is really simple at its core, but with the different tactics and move combinations, it makes the game much more fun when you strategize to beat your opponent. One of the best ways to learn these things is by playing against people better than you.”
The chess club views its practice matches as learning experiences where the more advanced player can teach their opponent different strategies as they come along.
“We’ve had beginners come, and we make sure to adapt to what they want to get out of the experience,” Richards said. “For example, if they don’t want to use a clock we won’t make them use a clock. We also make sure to define the different strategies we have made after each match.”
Playing against an opponent that is more experienced than you can enhance your skills, but each club member doesn’t always have someone else to play against during their own time. Luckily, the club has found alternative ways to grow their knowledge and experience.
Club member Sam Dahlgren said the club uses computer programs to practice.
“As people, we don’t understand the moves that computers are making sometimes, but we are able to get to that point when playing against a computer,” Dahlgren said. “Sometimes, computers will make moves that we’ve never seen before, but we are able to adapt to.”
The computers are also able to help the players expand their knowledge on openings.
“Books used to be the best way to learn about openings,” Dahlgren said. “But, now we have a chess engine where you can plug in different moves and learn the different ways to react, specifically the most popular ways and best ways to react.”
As helpful as computers’ ability to play chess has been for the Aggies, some team members have seen a different reaction in the chess community.
“There’s this big misconception that since computers are way better than people at chess that computers have completely solved the game,” Dahlgren said. “But, there are computers that will compete against each other and beat each other. So, even computers haven’t perfected the game. Just like people, they are still learning how to actually play chess through adaptive strategy.”
The club’s unconventional way of training through online chess simulators in addition to in-person training has helped members improve their knowledge and experience, making different openings known to them like the back of their hand.
Levi Hinrichs, the team captain, is incredibly passionate about certain chess openings.
“My favorite opening would have to be the Ruy Lopez, otherwise known as the Spanish Opening,” Hinrichs said. “This opening has so many different theories behind it, and it has been studied through many different books.”
Most openings also have an interesting story behind their origin.
“Another interesting thing about the Ruy Lopez is that it is one of the oldest openings we know about,” Dahlgren said. “It was named after a Spanish priest. The opening is about 400 years old, and we still play it today.”
Along with the most famous openings, including the ‘Ruy Lopez,’ ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ and the ‘Catalan,’ the chess club also focuses on learning unpopular openings that are more likely to surprise an opponent.
In addition to learning the different strategies of each opening, the team members also focus on the different ways to react to each opening and adapt to an opponent’s changing strategy throughout the game.
The chess club is constantly working to exercise the minds of its’ members. This applies to anyone with any level of experience.
“Our club is always accepting new people, regardless of the amount of experience they have,” Hinrichs said. “Our practices are every Tuesday and Friday from 5-6:30 in the TSC Hub. If someone is interested in joining, all they have to do is stop by.”