Chess is centu­ries-old  game of strategy and skill, and the Chess Club at West is nurturing students’ love of this intense activity every Wednesday in room 12.

The dynamics of the game are what inspired Adam Mackie, an English teacher, to be the club spon­sor. “It forces you to think outside the box, but within the box, so to speak, because it’s all squares at the same time,” he says.

Mackie believes what people get out of chess is the community and relationship. It’s a game with intimacy and it’s a sort of a one-on-one situation with a conversation of silence; a conversation that doesn’t rely on any words.

Sophomore Morgan Tullos is the president of Chess Club. She originally joined Chess Club at her elementary school and nev­er stopped playing. At the age of 14, Tullos got more serious about the game and became president her fresh­men year. Nowadays to get better at chess, she makes sure she comes to Chess Club every week and plays with her friends during her free time.

Some important ad­vice Tullos gives is to always protect your king and look for forceful moves. While preparing for an opponent, Tullos stays focused as possible. Her favorite part of chess came as an inspiration from Mackie. “[He] said chess is almost poetic be­cause there’s infinite options; just the ability to know your next move one minute and not know it the next,” she said.

Sophomore Noah Berkowitz is the vice pres­ident of the Chess Club. Berkowtiz’s father taught him to play chess and then in kindergarten he joined the chess club and it taught him to be a better player.

Berkowitz’s favorite part of a chess game is the “begin­ning because you can set the tone with what you do, who your kind of are as a chess player.” Before making a move, Berkowitz asks him­self if the move make sense and what would the results would be.

The best advice that was given to Berkowitz, is to “have fun with it.” The game of chess is supposed to bring people together, and the club is on its way to achiev­ing that goal.