Chess in 2017 is a polarizing game. Photo by Paul Stebner
In this month’s issue of Bold Life, we interview members of the Hendersonville Chess Club and find out the intriguing state of the ancient game, where scholastic chess is hot and players on the spectrum’s other end are clinging to tradition (www.boldlife.com/game-war-wit/). “Older competitors are dwindling in number while younger ones seem to be proliferating. And while that’s good for the overall longevity of the ancient game, the culture has been utterly transformed … the [Hendersonville Chess Club’s] youngest player is seven years old,” reports Norm Powers, going on to quote club president Wayne Spon: “‘Some of the older players don’t like to play kids, especially if they get beat by a kid who can barely see the board. … Personally I don’t care, because they’re the future of the royal game.’” This weekend, though, it’s all about the mentors, not the upstarts, when the North Carolina Seniors Tournament happens here in Hendersonville.
Friday, December 1 through Sunday, December 3 at Cascades Mountain Resort (201 Sugarloaf Road in Hendersonville). chess.com/club/hendersonville-chess-club.
