The West Rouge Chess group was started by Linda Beaulieu (standing in checkered shirt) in June.
By Kathryn Stocks
For those who enjoy playing chess and would like to play more often, this story’s for you. Self-confessed “chess geek” Linda Beaulieu started the West Rouge Chess group last June. “I like meeting people,” she said. “I thought I’d do it for the community.”
At first, the games were played in Bill Hancox Park at Lawrence Ave.and Bridgeport. There are three tables in the park that have chess boards embedded in the tabletops, which seemed like the perfect place to play. But it turned out the glare from the metal boards was reflective and it was too distracting to play on, so Linda had to buy other boards.
When she started the group, she had no idea if anyone would be interested, but people showed up from the first week. There were three tables in the park and they usually had 5 or 6 players each Sunday over the summer. When the weather got colder in the early fall, Linda switched to having indoor games. “One time it was so windy the pieces blew off the board,” she laughed.
There are 12 to 15 regular players who now meet in the Port Union Community Centre from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday mornings at the tables outside the fitness centre. Anyone who knows how to play chess is welcome to join them.
The age range for the group is 9 and up. Linda said 9 is a good age for kids to get off their phones and do something that uses their brains. Chess fits the bill. The participants play for two hours and the ideal situation is to have two games in that time. Parents can drop their kids off and come back to get them two hours later. As one mother picked up her son, she said, “This is the highlight of his week!” Her son, Yasir, recently played in a tournament after being inspired by Linda.
She learned how to play chess around the age of 10 or 12, and Linda found she really enjoyed it. She said that the popularity of the game has been on the rise since The Queen’s Gambit mini series came out on Netflix in 2020. The series portrayed the life of young chess prodigy, Elizabeth Harmon, during her quest to become an elite player.
Covid was also a factor in helping the popularity of chess skyrocket as people looked for ways to occupy their time during the lockdowns.
Linda pointed out that chess is one of the oldest games in the world. It started almost 1,500 years ago in 6th century India, and from there it spread to Persia and later to Europe.
Sometime in the new year, there will be a chess tournament in the community organized by West Rouge Sports and Rec. If you want to learn more about it or the group itself, contact Linda at lindab.toronto@gmail.com. She also posts about it on the West Rouge Residents Facebook page under “West Rouge Chess (WRC).”