Chess is a game that goes back hundreds of years and is played by people all over the world.
In Grand Forks, Phil Lefkowitz hopes to put together a chess club so that anyone who would like to learn more about the game would have the opportunity to.
“What I’d like to do is start a little program in this town, the main focus would be in the schools,” says Lefkowitz. “After school or during.”
With these programs any students who would want some pointers on the game would be able to get them.
Lefkowitz, who plays competitively in tournaments in places like Grand Prairie, Alta., sees chess as a game that everyone can learn but that has many levels and strategies within it. His goal is to get kids excited to play chess.
He would like to see a more formal setup in this town, since chess is a game that most people have some knowledge of.
Ultimately, he would like to see chess introduced into school, like they have done in places in Europe because of the benefits it has for things like concentration. His ventures into schools would begin as more of an exhibition.
“I would like to go into the schools and play what they call simultaneous exhibitions,” he says, explaining that they are games against more than one opponent at the same time, which makes watching more interesting.
Lefkowitz has 10 sets of regulation chessboards and timers, as well as a library of books on the subject.
“I’d like to focus mainly on young people, meaning anyone in school,” he says, adding that he doesn’t see the club starting until at least fall, but is open to play chess with anyone who would like to at this time. He says that currently there is no structured club in the city.
“We just get together and play,” he says, of the games that he and some others in town play.
Contact him at 250-442-5513 or by email at palefty2@telus.net.