More than 64 Square Spaces
Yesterday’s Google Doodle was on chess to celebrate the 2024 World Chess Championships.
Google Doodle on 25 Nov was a tribute to chess.
It added joy to my day and gave me the perfect excuse to write this week’s blog on the social chess club I had mentioned earlier and why it is so essential to have such third places in your city and life.
If you are new to Meetup, it’s this wonderful app that lets you connect with people offline based on your interests and hobbies. It also helps that London has a thriving meetup culture. You can choose from a wide range of options, such as book clubs, hiking adventures, board game afternoons, city walks, learning projects, community friendship groups, salsa and bachata lessons or, in this case, chess.
An interesting conversation with a friend also made me realise that good groups with a small cohort of familiar faces regularly attending are hard to come by. So when you find one, you stick to it – especially when the social engagement part isn’t intimidating.
I discovered the chess group this way in February this year, after debating whether to go or not go for more than 2 months. Score 1 for stepping out of my comfort zone and 0 for social anxiety.
It’s been one of my better decisions. It’s something I look forward to every week. It’s made me play offline chess again (while continuing to be a chess.com loyalist), learn fun variations, make friends, and hopefully slightly improve my game. The space is large, clean, and inviting, and our warm host generously provides us with coffee and snacks, despite people willing to show up without the added incentive.
Our Chess Meetup group for all ages and levels.
It's a group that welcomes all levels and only requires enthusiasm for the game to participate. I was also happy to see that more such groups are mushrooming all over the city with popular areas allocating different days of the week to a quick game over coffee or drinks. So the next time you are feeling digitally overwhelmed or socially isolated, just up and go to a friendly neighbourhood chess event (or another activity of your choosing), roll up your sleeves and practice some moves.
May your strategy be strong and heartache from blunders negligible!
