But Cardiff group has reopened and others around Wales seek to capitalise on popularity of Queen’s Gambit
WELSH chess clubs are concerned that the pandemic will severely lower membership as more people are drawn to the convenience of online platforms.
Chess in Wales has a long history: Cardiff Chess Club originated in 1851 following the first international chess tournament which was held in London.
Since that first tournament, chess clubs have sprung up all over Wales, but the pandemic brought them all to a halt.
People were faced with the choice of no chess or playing online, which many chess players considered to be an inferior way of playing because it lacks the psychological element of reading your opponent’s body language while playing.
Chess became more mainstream with the release of Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit which remained on Netflix’s top 10 list for 78 days straight.
The Queen’s Gambit came out in September 2020 and inspired many viewers to play chess for the first time.
Chess.com is the largest online platform and saw a huge rise in users.
Laura Nystrom, spokesperson for Chess.com, said: “Before the pandemic Chess.com had 30 million members, today we have 76.8 million.
“We track ‘daily activities’ as a measure of interest.
- 1M daily activity players in March 2020
- 3M in November 2020
- 5M in April 2021
- 4M in November 2021 (most recent figures available)
“New female players joining Chess.com before The Queen’s Gambit comprised between 22% and 25% of all new players, this month it is 34%.”
The increase in female players, as a result of The Queen’s Gambit, will hopefully have some knock-on effect for in-person clubs which are currently 90% male in Wales.
The difficulty for chess clubs has been following Covid guidance and ensuring that chess clubs are safe enough for people to return to playing in-person.
Jason Garcia, the membership secretary and finance director for the Welsh Chess Union, shed some light on how Covid has impacted clubs.
He said: “Until October 2021, no chess clubs in Wales were allowed to meet and no tournaments were held.”
Clubs in Wales have begun to reopen but due to stringent risk assessments many have not gone through the process.
Mr Garcia said: “We will never go back to solely in-person events because there is just not the interest and we will lose out on an audience. The challenge we have is how to bring in those people who play on the likes of Chess.com and Lichess.
“We want to get them involved with competitive online events organised by the Welsh Chess Union.”
Many players who had previously dismissed online chess took it up during lockdown. One such player was Jonathan Blackburn who is the current Welsh online chess champion.
Jonathan Blackburn the Welsh online chess champion Credit: Jonathan Blackburn
Jonathan started learning chess when he was six and once it became clear he was a talented player he was encouraged to take it seriously.
He said: “My full-time job is being a chess coach so during lockdown I played a lot of online chess.
“I played in a few online tournaments including two British championships and the Welsh championships too.
“We entered a four nation chess league on chess.com, which is still going now. We’ve also got a Welsh Dragons team in the worldwide league.
“It was nice being part of a team particularly during the lockdown period. Every Thursday and Sunday evening a load of us would go online and play in the same team.
“It did help a little bit, thinking back on it.”
Hywel Griffiths, 41, is another player who valued online chess during lockdown. He said: “My dad taught me when I was four before I joined Castell Nedd Chess Club and I’m still a member. Chess.com has been a large source of my casual chess and I play a few games of blitz a day.”
Blitz chess is a fast-paced version of the game, where each player usually has a five minute time limit.
He added: “I’m pretty good at coping on my own but it gave me something else to do. I like to keep my mind occupied and chess has always contributed to that.”
In-person chess clubs across Wales may have severely reduced membership due to the pandemic, but many of those returning have fond memories that make across the board chess better than online.
Joe Fathallah, 37, who regularly attends Cardiff Chess Club, said: “I learned to play chess at the age of eight from my parents who knew the rules but not much else. They took me to Cardiff Chess Club.
“That’s when we met Hugh Price who taught almost every chess kid in South Wales from the 1950s until not that long ago. He sadly passed away last year at the age of 94.
“Now that things are loosening up slightly some of us have played blitz chess in Bute Park and I have started chasing in-person tournaments wherever I can find them.”
One of the biggest issues that chess clubs are facing is an ageing player base. With online chess being more convenient it will be difficult for clubs to attract people away from platforms like Chess.com and Lichess.
Mr Garcia said: “Many of our clubs meet in public premises such as community halls or pubs and when you are trying to attract children they aren’t the best premises as parents might not be comfortable taking their child to a pub on an evening.
“Usually meetings take place on Wednesday evenings, starting at 7pm and going on until 9 or 10pm. Online chess can be done at home whenever is most convenient.”
It is hoped that by adapting chess clubs to a hybrid of online events and in-person playing, chess clubs across Wales will attract younger players and gain a more diverse membership.
- If you’re interested in joining Cardiff Chess Club then head to the YMCA Community Centre on Shakespeare Street, CF24 3ES at half past seven on Wednesday nights.
- Or if you’re looking for something online then look at the Welsh Chess Union website which will give you a list of clubs across Wales.
- Chess in Wales Facebook group is also a great way to get involved and meet the wider Welsh chess community.
