Week 3: Our third session had an excellent turnout! Similar to the last few weeks, the more seasoned players were able to play a myriad of games against one another and subsequently analyze them; the beginning players reviewed the basics of a few openings, including the main lines of the Ruy Lopez and French Defense previously taught, and went over a few of the shorter games I played recently where I was able to discuss my reasoning behind making the moves I did.

Below are a few pictures from Week 3:

Week 4: Despite the fact that school in the area was to start the next day, we still had a decent amount of people come to our fourth program! For a small period of time in the beginning, those who came were able to play some quick blitz games against one another. Then, for the vast majority of the time, I went over a hard-fought game I had won from the recent Cleveland Open—it lasted approximately 60 moves! Because I had much time to go over this game, I was able to explain all the moves with much depth and precision. Also, in contrast to the other weeks, I was able to utilize special chess software and then project the game onto a screen for everyone to see! Using the technology allowed an increased flexibility to analyze many variations in differing positions!

Take a look at some pictures from Week 4:

On the whole, we really enjoyed this month long program at the Solon Public Library! It was absolutely incredible to see how many people had a passion for chess and, overall, how rapidly chess has grown in the area. We are thankful for the Cuyahoga County Public Library’s support of this chess program and we’re hoping this won’t be the last we’ve seen of chess at the library; stay tuned!