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When Aaron Baker was in the second grade at Forest Elementary School in February 2018, he learned the game in the WINGS gifted class. Each student made a chess board out of construction paper and was given small plastic chess pieces. 

Aaron came home and asked his father, Chris, to play a game. Chris responded that he didn't know how to play. "I had always wanted to learn, but I never got around to it. The perceived complexities intimidated me," he said. Aaron showed him how the pieces move and the general parameters of the game, "and I was hooked."

The father and son duo wanted to find others in the community to join in the game so Chris contacted Dianne McLaurin at the Forest Public Library to see what could be arranged in starting a club. “A library patron came to us and suggested the idea of starting a chess club here. We were excited about the idea and we were already aware of children who expressed interest,” McLaurin said.

Two interest meetings were held in May and attracted a good turnout. The Friends of the Library support group purchased five chess sets for use during club meetings and for library patrons to use during their visits.

At first, the club focused on children, but then expanded to all ages. Attendance began to grow over the next two years, including turnouts of 20+ players participating. Anyone who already played the game or wanted to learn was invited. 

And then COVID-19 struck.

Like other programs, the club was suspended from March 2020 until September 2021 when the library started to resume normal operations. Many of the original players drifted away due to the extended downtime so the club began to rebuild - keeping the door open to past players while welcoming new ones.

The club took another step forward in the fall of 2021 by joining the U.S. Chess Federation as an affiliate club and hosted its first tournament in November. The Roosevelt Chess Classic attracted 46 players from across Mississippi and three other states. Chris was also a guest on the "Good Things with Rebecca Turner" radio show on SuperTalk to promote the game and the club. 

Growth continued in 2022 with the addition of another tournament, the Bienville Chess Classic, and Chris became a tournament director. The club also started a newsletter distributed via email. This web site was launched in September 2022 and the club began making regular appearances at community events. 

For more information about past and future events, click HERE.

Pictured at right is Aaron's first chess board made in his gifted class in 2018 while in the second grade at Forest Elementary School. His teacher, Deanne McKown, had each student make a board out of construction paper and provided small plastic pieces as she taught them the game.

The image below the board is a king piece painted on glass which Aaron made during a crafts event at a local church youth activity.