Parents often ask me where their child can play chess.  I almost always recommend playing in tournaments, as that is where most students normally play.  But for a more complete answer, a child can play chess:

• With a friend or relative: - Ease of finding opponent: Fair/poor;Level of Competition: Poor; Safety: Excellent; Social Benefits: Fair – Certainly the most common for beginners, but won’t help the child learn very more than the moves.

• At a School Club: - Ease of finding opponent: good; Level of Competition: Poor/Fair; Safety: Excellent; Social Benefits: Fair/Good – Most schools don’t have a club, at least not one that is run consistently by a teacher who knows how to help children at chess.At each school the most interested kids usually cannot find sufficient competition.

• On a School Team - Ease of finding opponent: Excellent; Level of Competition: Fair/Good; Safety: Very Good; Social Benefits: Fair – If few schools have clubs, then even fewer have teams. I  formed a league among high schools on the Main Line for the ‘98-’99 season that is still active.

• At a Chess Class – Ease, etc.: N/A- Chess classes are set up for teaching and not playing.  Classes are the “theory”; playing is the “practice.” With very young students I usually let them play a little as a “carrot” for paying attention!

• At a Summer Camp: Ease of finding opponent: Fair; Level of Competition: Varies; Generally Good at a Chess Camp, Terrible at a Non-Chess Camp; Safety: Very Good; Social Benefits: Fair – Most summer camps do not have chess.There are several excellent camps that concentrate on chess; the closest are the Kopec camp in Lawrenceville NJ and Castle Chess Camp in Western PA (Bradford).  See my Links page for Chess Camps.  I had taught chess at Julian Krinsky Summer Camp in Haverford from '97-’99.

• At a Chess Club for Juniors: - Ease of finding opponent: excellent; Level of Competition: good; Safety: Very Good; Social Benefits: Good – There are a few clubs just for juniors (not affiliated with a school).  The Huntingdon Valley Chess Society Juniors is into their 25th year in Lower Moreland.  It is run by the parents.A club can be formed anywhere if enough parents are interested. The Montgomery County Youth Chess Club is an excellent club in Wyncote.

• At a Regular Chess Club: - Ease of finding opponent: excellent; Level of Competition: (too?) good ; Safety: Good; Social Benefits: Fair/Good – Most (adult) clubs allow and welcome juniors who know how to play quietly. The Main Line Chess Club, which meets Tuesday starting at 7 PM at the Waverly Heights Life Care Retirement Community at 1400 Waverly Rd. in Gladwyne (1½ blocks E of Rt 23), has several (more serious) juniors who play during the year and especially during the summer, when homework and getting up early the next day are not so much of a problem.

• With a Computer - Ease of finding opponent: The best if you have a computer; Level of Competition: Needs to be set at a competitive level; Safety: Excellent; Social Benefits: None – A program like ChessMaster X000 (CM10000 is the latest, but most expensive - 4000-9000 are almost as good an a lot cheaper!) can be set to almost any playing level.  In chess, like tennis and other one-on-one competitions, it is best to set the computer so that it is beating you about 3 times out of 4 (75%).Almost all good programs are $50 or less.

• On the Internet - Ease of finding opponent: Excellent; Level of Competition: Excellent; Safety: Physical Safety is excellent – on-line behavior on Internet chess clubs is sometimes childish; Social Benefits: Poor/Fair – There are several chess clubs on the Internet, some free and some not (you can search at Yahoo for as many as you need). The Internet Chess Club ( http://www.chessclub.com ) is not a free club; membership for students is about $24.50 per year, but there is excellent competition and I am a member. You can download their “Blitzin” software fairly easily; sometimes the behavior of those on line can be pretty childish, but you can also turn off the ongoing chatter while you play.

• At a Tournament - Ease of finding opponent: Excellent; Level of Competition: Toward a player’s level; Safety: Varies, but generally very good; Social Benefits: Good – There are about a dozen scholastic tournaments each year in this area.The social benefits/competition in adult tournaments are less optimum, but many students also play in those.   You don’t have to be good to participate (consider them “open festivals”).   Most tournaments are swiss system, which means no one is eliminated; you only play someone doing as well as you are – players with zero wins and three losses play others that are 0-3.  Prizes are based upon entry fees and vary; scholastic tournaments usually have low fees and trophy prizes. Membership in the US Chess Federation is required ($19/yr. < age 14); the member gets Chess Life magazine and a rating after playing 4 games (until you get a rating you’re “unrated”).  Your rating determines your prize “class”, so some players of every level have good chances to win.  In this area, most jr. tournaments are held between Sept through April, many at Philadelphia Community College, the JCC in Wynnewood, or Roslyn Boys and Girls Club.  Many of these are part of our Delaware Valley Scholastic Grand Prix set of events with tournament and end-of-year trophies.  The PA State Scholastic Championships are held annually in early March at Bloomsburg College; 511 people played in ‘02!.  See also my Guide to Chess in Philadelphia