The Chess Club meets every Tuesday evening that school is in session from mid-October until the North Dakota State Chess tournament which is held in mid-April. Currently, meetings are held in classroom G204 upstairs in the Ellig Wellness Center from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The 2009 Chess Club season will start on Tuesday October 13^th.

Each session starts with donuts/cookies and chit-chat about what is going on at Oak Grove. Then we try to have 1/2 hour instruction either in the form of an exercise from a chess website, a chess DVD, or a partial chess lecture from www.chesslecture.com.  The last hour is spent playing chess, either ad hoc games or sometimes we'll have a mini-tournament complete with prizes.

There is no cost for attending our Tuesday night sessions. Most chess tournaments, if the student chooses to attend, are held on Saturdays and have a nominal entry fee (usually $5). For a listing of local scholastic tournaments see www.ndchessnut.com.  The Oak Grove chess season builds toward the North Dakota State Scholastic Chess tournament. Oak Grove has won many state championship titles, including the last four consecutive junior high (grades 7-9) state team titles.

Students in grades 7-12 can earn an Oak Grove Letter in Chess. Requirements include attending team meetings, participation in local scholastic chess tournaments, and playing in the ND State tournament.

For more information: send an email to keith.battles@fargoagile.com with a question or ask to be added to the email distribution list. Players are always welcome to just drop by classroom G204 on a Tuesday evening during the chess season for a donut and a friendly game of chess.