Chess club not just for advanced players
10:00 PM PST on Wednesday, February 28, 2007
By DIANE A. RHODES
Special to The Press-Enterprise
Kings, queens and knights make their moves every Friday at the Royal Holiday Mobile Home Park when the Hemet Chess Club meets in the clubhouse.
Membership director Angelina Thomas welcomes players of all ages and skill levels. She says there are more than 20 members.
Thomas said the U.S. Chess Federation encourages children to play chess in school and at home to learn skills such as analysis, patience and planning.
“I love the game but it’s a bonus that it helps the brain; as I age I want to keep my mind active,” Thomas said. Her dad taught her to play as a child but she didn’t get serious until she began working at a school that needed someone to lead a chess club for 200 junior high school students. She is now one of three women who belong to the club.
President Marcos Montes has been playing chess for about 25 years, starting when he was 14 .
“When I started coming here I think I finally started learning,” said Montes, of San Jacinto. “Everybody has a different style of playing — that’s what makes it interesting.”
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