Missouri State University’s Chess Club opened its 2025-26 season with an informal competition on Sept. 3 in Strong Hall’s atrium.

Over 20 students attended the event, which featured a blitz chess competition.

Interested players first participated in a casual, meet-and-greet session that emphasized non-competitive play. The club set up chess boards at several individual tables in the atrium, allowing players to chat while they played and enjoyed free pizza.

Afterward, the club held an informal blitz chess competition. Blitz chess is a playing format during which each game lasts three to five minutes.

Chess Club will host two more events during the fall semester: Oct. 1 and Nov. 5. Both events are from 3-5 p.m. in the Strong Hall atrium.

Mark your calendar

Chess Club is for everyone

Two faculty members of the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH), Jay Howard and Nick Beatty, serve as Chess Club advisors. Howard is a senior instructor in the Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film. Beatty is an instructor in the Department of Political Science and Philosophy.

Even though it is advised by RCASH faculty, Howard emphasized that Chess Club is open to everyone, regardless of their playing level, their major or their status at the university.

“There are several faculty members who play as well as students, both undergraduate and graduate,” Howard said. “We’ve got community members here who aren’t students or faculty. So, it’s open to everyone.”

As a geology major, senior Connor Burns reflects Chess Club’s broader outreach at Missouri State. He has been with Chess Club since his sophomore year.

“It’s just fun,” Burns said. “I don’t have a lot of free time, but getting to come around here and play chess with people over the board is a lot better than being a recluse somewhere and playing it online.”

Junior psychology major Grant Howison also reflects Chess Club’s mission to be open to all. Like Burns, he has been part of Chess Club since his sophomore year and attends every meeting.

“I think it’s a lot of fun,” Howison said.

Meanwhile, freshman theatre and dance major Julie Kate Moylan is not a member of Chess Club. She joined the event, however, simply because she likes chess. For her, the game is “a great way to learn and maybe advance problem-solving skills. I think that’s a really good aspect of chess.”

Learning early and staying with it

Howison has been playing chess since he was 6 years old. “I think as a kid, honestly, I just saw it as something smart people played and I kind of looked up to that,” he said.

Burns has been playing chess since he was 9. He learned to play during a school “snow day.”

“I’d been wanting to play,” he recalled. “I had seen the board around the house for years, and then my dad was just like, ‘You might as well learn.’”

Moylan has also played chess since she was a child of about 7 or 8 years old.

“My father made me do it,” she laughed. “I think he wanted to teach me about strategy, about problem solving, maybe like hard work and resilience. You know, keep going when you’re losing.”

Moylan admitted she has yet to win a single game of chess against her father. “I’ve never beaten him. But I do enjoy it. I do have a lot of fun playing chess.”

Although not a Chess Club member, Moylan said she’s open to the idea, especially if it means she might eventually win a game against her father. “I think it could be fun. Maybe I’ll learn how to beat him.”

Strategy and competition key draws

Howison said he has grown increasingly interested in chess strategy, even reading a few strategy books in his spare time. “There’s like an infinite amount of time you can put into it, and you’ll never be the best, but you can always improve,” he said.

Chess’ strategy and competitive nature also appeal to Burns. “Learning new openings, strategies and end games is always really fun,” he said. “On like the macro level — removed from chess as a whole, the sort of forcing myself into more strategic thinking — that’s really great. It’s also like, I enjoy being competitive, but I don’t have the time for sports really, so getting to be competitive with this is a lot of fun.”

“I think it’s interesting how there are so many different ways to win,” Moylan said. “And I have fun playing with different minds and seeing what they play, which moves they make and what strategies they take.”

“I think chess is an art that really emphasizes creativity as well as critical thinking,” Howard noted. “Some people are pretty competitive, and some people have never played a game of chess before in their life. We just want everyone to have fun.”

Building a club to build community

Burns, Howison and Moylan all described Chess Club as an ideal way to meet people.

“I think if you’re interested in chess, it’s a great place to share a common interest,” Howison said. “And, you’ll meet a lot of great people.”

Burns held a similar view. “I think that A, it’s a great way to meet new people and B, it’s really good at making you think in different ways than what we’re used to as students,” he said.

Still, Howard noted that building a club can be difficult.

“Usually there’s like a bunch of little clubs that thrive for a while and disband, and the sad thing is none of them ever find each other,” he said. “If there is a group that plays at OTC or at Drury — maybe they’re small, there’s not a lot of energy, they don’t have a lot of equipment, but they do have passion for people who want to do it — I think it would be cool if we joined forces.”

“And if Missouri State could be a sort of a headquarters or a beacon for chess in the community, that would make me very happy.”

 

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Photo credits: Lynn Lansdown