Wes Chess

Al Fertig '10 is seeking interest in a Wes chess club. Email him if you're interested:

Last year, after becoming reacquainted with my childhood love of chess, I was surprised to find that Wesleyan doesn't have, and to my knowledge has never had, a chess club. So this semester, Lu Yang ('10) and I have decided to start one, but first we need to gauge interest. So if you want to be a part of this historic moment in Wesleyan extracurriculars, send an email to afertig or lyang. All skill levels are welcome, beginners are in fact encouraged, since the two of us are relatively inexperienced ourselves.

WuChess with RZA and GZA

Spring Fling artist GZA and his cousin RZA have taken their longtime love of chess online.

On wuchess.com, you can "play live chess with people from all over the world and get your learn on. Create your own chess clans to see who can build the highest ranking. Play in tournaments for prizes, or just for the joy of flexin' ya mentals."

According to the NYTimes:

RZA, 38, learned the game when he was 11, from a girl who, as he writes in the manual, also took his virginity. Though he and his cousin GZA, another founder of the group, both love chess, they did not play much when they were younger because, GZA said, they were too poor to own a board.

Now they play chess almost every day, and RZA, holder of the Hip-Hop Chess Federation belt — a trophy he picked up last fall at a tournament in San Francisco that featured rappers and martial-arts experts — is turning his interest into a business. On Monday he started WuChess, a Web site where fans can play chess online, chat, see scores of their games and other personal information, and get news about RZA and Wu-Tang.

Finally, the gangsta credibility chess has always needed. Although it might be an uncomfortably short step from the WuMasters' endorsements of the game to a Tip Drill treatment.

NYTimes: RZA Promotes the Martial Art of Chess

Weekend Chess

Lu Yang and Al Fertig '10 are organizing a weekly informal gathering of chess enthusiasts, Sundays during/after brunch. We're just a couple of guys who have rediscovered the joys of lounging around on weekends while sipping on a cup of coffee and enjoying a stimulating game of chess, and are looking for people to play against/have our asses kicked by.

All skill levels welcome, we don't care whether you know Searching for Bobby Fischer by heart or can't tell a bishop from a rook. Bring a chess set if you've got one, we have like, two between the three of us.

Usdan courtyard at 1, Usdan lobby if it rains. Josh Waitzkin won't be there, but we are working on our intense chess faces.

Date: Sundays, starting April 27th
Time: 1 pm
Place: Usdan courtyard/lobby if it rains