Chess players face off against each other during the tournament in the ballroom of the War Memorial Building on Saturday. Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Chess lovers from throughout the region and beyond gathered together in the War Memorial Building on Saturday, for the Shepherdstown Chess Club’s second tournament.

Twelve players — nine from the local area, two from Virginia and one from New York — could be found battling it out for dominance, separated into playing sections of those who were United States Chess Federation (USCF) rated and those who were USCF unrated. In the end, local resident Evan Dokken won the unrated section of the tournament with three points and Virginia-based USCF-rated player Andrew Tichenor won the USCF-rated section of the tournament with three points. They each took home with them an $80 cash prize.

According to organizer Anya Ellis, holding tournaments like this one enables more local people to become engaged with the game of chess.

“The club’s mission is promote chess education and play within Berkeley County and Jefferson County,” Ellis said. “Holding competitive tournaments is an extension of that mission.”

Ellis herself fell in love with the game of chess in high school and continued to play it in college, only to find that, after graduation, the opportunities for chess players dramatically decreased in the area.

Chess players fill the ballroom of the War Memorial Building on Saturday. Courtesy photo

“Currently, I am the top woman player in the state,” Ellis said. “I started playing competitive chess in 2015. The following year, Jefferson High School sent me and its other chess club members to the state scholastic tournament. I then obtained my USCF tournament director certification in undergraduate, around 2019.

“I and some other local players have been traveling to the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia to play in competitive chess tournaments for the past few years,” Ellis said. “When we met up, some discussions came up about possible locations for a tournament in Shepherdstown, as well as starting an official United States Chess Federation Club locally.”

From those conversations, the Shepherdstown Chess Club was born in April of this year. Its members meet for weekly chess matches in The Daily Grind at 778 Foxcroft Avenue in Martinsburg on Tuesdays, from 6-8 p.m. They hope to be able to hold another seasonal chess tournament in the fall.

“We might hold a fall tournament, if we receive a grant or sponsorship, but that’s up in the air right now,” Ellis said, mentioning the participation fees cannot cover the prize money amounts, along with the cost of the building and chess board rental.

In the future, the club hopes to find other ways to build local interest in chess, such as through developing a regional version of the State Scholastic Tournament.

Chess players from throughout the region face off against each other at the second tournament hosted by the Shepherdstown Chess Club in the War Memorial Building on Saturday. Courtesy photo

“There has been some talks about holding an Eastern Panhandle Scholastic Tournament, but no location has been verified for that yet,” Ellis said. “The West Virginia Chess Association holds the State Scholastic Tournament in Clarksburg almost every year, and it would be great to offer our own tournament, especially if any of the local high schools send students to the state championships again.”

To learn more, visit https://shepherdstownchessclub.substack.com/.