Our Upcoming Events
March 1 - Regular Monthly Meeting
We will have our regular meeting on Saturday, March 1, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Forest Public Library. Come play or learn the game of chess with us!
April 5 - Regular Monthly Meeting
We will have our regular meeting on Saturday, April 5, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Forest Public Library. Come play or learn the game of chess with us!
April 12 - 2025 Bienville Chess Classic
Our 4th annual Bienville Chess Classic Tournament will be held at Roosevelt State Park. Click on the button for more details.
May 3 - Regular Monthly Meeting
We will have our regular meeting on Saturday, May 3, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Forest Public Library. Come play or learn the game of chess with us!
June 7 - Regular Monthly Meeting
We will have our regular meeting on Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Forest Public Library. Come play or learn the game of chess with us!
What we have been up to lately . . .
Skip down below to see what special events we have held in recent months
Playing and promoting chess since 2018
We're building on our six years since starting our chess journey and providing opportunities to play in Scott County. We thank all of our sponsors and partners who have helped us.
Our Past Events
November 9, 2024 - 4th annual Roosevelt Chess Classic
We hosted our 4th annual Roosevelt Chess Classic which attracted our highest turnout in our history with 75 players including 10 teams. We had players from across Mississippi and one from Alabama and an international master from New York.
October 12 - Randy Richardson Memorial Chess Camp
We hosted our 2nd annual Randy Richardson Memorial Chess Camp for children to learn Chess at the Forest Public Library. We had a great turnout and more details will be posted at a later time.
This was also National Chess Day in America.
September 28 - Wing Dang Doodle Festival
We had a booth at the 2024 Wing Dang Doodle Festival at Gaddis Park in Forest to promote the game of Chess. We had an information display and boards set up for people to play the game. We also had a great experience in 2002 and 2023. We had a good number of visitors, some played a few games and we signed up a few for the chess camp and club membership. We look forward to next year for another wonderful opportunity to introduce chess to more people in our community.
August 17 - Inaugural Forest Chess Challenge
We successfully completed our newest tournament that kicked off a new series that features Quick and Blitz chess action. We had 15 registrations for players who met at Penn's restaurant in Forest.
The overall tournament included a Quick session of 5 Swiss rounds in the morning into early afternoon with a time control of 15+3. The Blitz session of 6 Swiss rounds in the afternoon had a time control of 5+3. Prizes were awarded to first and second place in two sections of each session - Open and U1000.
July 4 - Independence Day at Roosevelt State Park
We made our first appearance at the Independence Day celebration at Roosevelt State Park where we had a booth set up to distribute information and provided people a chance to play Chess.
It was a very hot day, but a good crowd. The event officially began at 2 p.m. and from about 2:30 on, we had a steady flow of kids stopping by our booth to play Chess. They were excited about the opportunity to play and ask questions.
The skill levels ranged from very beginner to relatively experienced. We taught a few who played for the first time and others who knew what they were doing. One kid who started out as an absolute newcomer kept coming back with his friends and got better as the day went along.
The day culminated with two teens, girl and boy, who started a game around 7 p.m. and kept playing until it was too dark to see much. The game went about an hour and just after someone provided a portable light, she achieved checkmate sometime after 8 p.m.
Thank you to everyone who participated. It was a fun day for Chess in Scott County.
May 30 - SuperTalk Mississippi Radio Network
We made our fourth appearance on "Good Things with Rebecca Turner" on the SuperTalk Mississippi radio network. The show airs Mondays through Fridays from 2 until 3 p.m. This time, we were joined with co-guest Douglas Stewart, 4-time former state chess champion and treasurer and board member of the Mississippi Chess Association. The primary topic was growth of chess in Mississippi.
For more information about our past appearances, CLICK HERE.
May 11 - LakeFest
We had a booth at the annual LakeFest community festival on the grounds of the Old Depot in Lake to promote the game of Chess. We had an excellent number of people stop at our tent and express interest in the game. Visitors played the game on site and ask questions. We taught the game to visitors ranging from kids to grandparents.
April 20, 2024 - Bienville Chess Classic tournament
Our 3rd annual spring tournament was held at Roosevelt State Park. This was our sixth overall tournament to host. All of our tournaments have now attracted a combined attendance of 309 players.
Historical Archives of Events
For efficiency's sake, we summarized our older events to provide more space above for more recent activities. As new events are completed, we will move past event items to this section to make more room for information. Click on linked items that are underlined for more information. Thank you for visiting our web site to see the many things we have accomplished.
*December 1, 2023- We participated in the Forest Christmas Parade.
*November 4, 2023- Roosevelt Chess Classic. Our 3rd annual fall tournament was held at Roosevelt State Park. This was our fifth overall tournament to host.
*October 19, 2023- We were guests on WLBT (Channel 3 - Jackson) for their new features show Studio 3 talking about the growth of Chess in Mississippi.
*October 15, 2023- Mississippi State Fair. The Mississippi Chess Association (MCA) had a great day at the Mississippi State Fair in Jackson. The game received great exposure to a wonderful crowd who stopped at our display area in the Trade Mart to play games and learn more about Chess.
*October 14, 2023- The Randy Richardson Memorial Chess Camp was held at the Forest Public Library. This was an opportunity for players of all ages to come check out the game, receive initial instructions, and more. The program was focused on children and youth. It was a great success with a wonderful turnout.
* September 30, 2023- Wing Dang Doodle Festival. We had a booth at the Wing Dang Doodle Festival at Gaddis Park in Forest to promote the game of Chess.
* September 23, 2023- Sebastopolooza Festival. We hosted a booth at Bishop Park to promote the game of Chess.
* June 2023- Summer Reading Program. We had a display set up on Tuesdays for participants.
* June 1, 2023- Guest on SuperTalk. We made our third appearance as a guest on "Good Things" with our partner and show host Rebecca Turner. This time we had a fellow chess leader, Beth Thrasher, talking about the game's growth in Mississippi.
* May 13, 2023- Lakefest. We had a booth at the annual community festival on the grounds of the Old Depot to promote the game of Chess.
* May 6, 2023- Morton Day in the Park. We had a booth at the Morton Day in Park Festival at Farris Park to promote the game of Chess.
* April 1, 2023- 2nd annual Bienville Chess Classic held at Roosevelt State Park
* November 5, 2022- 2nd annual Roosevelt Chess Classic held at Roosevelt State Park
* October 8, 2022- We celebrated National Chess Day by hosting a clinic for Scouts to earn the Chess Merit Badge. We will attempt to hold future clinics when possible.
* Sept. 24, 2022- Wing Dang Doodle Festival. We had a booth at the Wing Dang Doodle Festival at Gaddis Park in Forest to promote the game of Chess.
* September 2022- Website launch. We launched this website to provide information about who we are, what we're doing and about chess across Mississippi.
