05/09/2026
Some of us older people (I am 62 years old) write long letters (essays) to each other, about e.g. our philosophy of chess meetings:
I have realized something about over-the-board chess meetings: Once in a while, for reasons I can't entirely figure out, there are only half a dozen people. Of course we prefer to have as many people playing as possible; having conversations with them (you) about our lves while playing chess is very valuable.
I read in the New York Times that between 2005 and 2019 there was a 28% decline in words people speak to each other in conversations. https://wapo.st/46zwKYC
Social media and automation have replaced opportunities to meet with each other and talk. So, if we have a chess meeting and I have a conversation with just one person, then we have made my life, their life and the world a better place.
Our chess meetings aren't just so I can play chess. Our chess club is so that our members and visitors can meet, make friends, find jobs, network, reduce loneliness and even find a romantic partner, as I did.
A chess meeting with six people isn't “small"; it's " intimate”.
There have been perhaps eight times when I've left the country for a week or more since we started the chess club in 2023. Even at those times, other members of our club have hosted the chess meetings in my absence, so that everyone can enjoy the meetings, regardless of whether I am present personally.
I hope our chess club is like a hospital emergency room: It's always open when it's supposed to be.
