Scholastic Chess at the Cosmos Club
Posted: 10/28/2012 12:14 pm 
Lubomir Kavalek

International Chess Grandmaster

It was all about chess at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C. on October 20. The Big Chair Chess Club, 20 children and seven adults, came from Anacostia to play against chess enthusiasts of the Cosmos Club. It was a beautiful day, but the chessplayers inside didn’t notice. After they finished playing, they came outside all smiles.

The founder of the Big Chair Chess Club, Eugene Brown (left in the first row), taught chess in public schools. “Think before you move,” he stressed, hoping his advice would help the youngsters make good decisions also in life. The club offers an after-school alternative for the kids. 

The name of the club comes from Anacostia’s landmark built in 1959 as the largest chair in the world, 19 1/2 feet tall and weighing 4,600 pounds. The trip to the Cosmos Club was organized by Roslyn Stewart Christian who takes care of the club’s activities as the managing director.

Big Chair players outplayed their opponents in the morning clashes, but the results were perhaps less important than the fun they all had. The afternoon was reserved for my lecture and simultaneous exhibition.

The children have been introduced to the long and rich heritage of the Cosmos Club. The photos of the members are displayed on the walls.

Among the members have been three U.S. presidents, two Vice Presidents, a dozen Supreme Court justices, 32 Nobel Prize winners, 56 Pulitzer Prize winners and 45 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Full article here.

Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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