(Picture above is one of the most famous chess cafes in history. We seek to revive much of that spirit, but with a more diverse crowd. Scroll down to see pics of our events!)
The Beacon Hill Politics Chess Tournaments
(Next Event: Thursday May 23 @ 6 PM)
Place: Carrie Nation Restaurant, Boston
A diverse group of Massachusetts reporters, politicians, activists, pollsters, researchers, state legislators, lawyers, writers, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents gather sometimes on Beacon Hill gets together to drink, network, and play to take home the club trophy: The Sheldon King.
Players are beginner level to perhaps 1800 rating with multi-tournament experience.
(Yes! You can come and just watch. Please do!)
A nice write up of these fun tournaments ran in Commonwealth Magazine. (Link here).
Full details and signup form below…
Wednesday Oct 25, 6 pm
Carrie Nation Restaurant, Boston
All levels - beginner to advanced - are welcome
It’s all free to play. (But you should buy food and drink from Carrie Nation.)
NOTE: We do not publicly advertise ahead of time who is playing in our tournaments.
DETAILS
Sections below:
Purpose of these tournaments
Tournament format
Tournament Trophy
Frequently-Asked Questions
Contact us
More photos
Purpose
These events are meant to be fun for all levels of players who are somehow involved in our beloved state politics. In a time of great polarization between parties and stress between different groups of people in our politics, these events are a great way to ease tensions and get to know other people in a fun, lightly-competitive environment. They are also networking events for spectators and players. You don’t have to play chess well to play or watch, but you should appreciate the elegant ancient game of strategy that it is.
The first tournament was among just 8 players on August 16, 2018. It was an instant success.
Format: Rapid Games (10-20 minutes each)
The tournaments are only 2-3 hours each, so the games will be fast. Each player will have 5 or 10 minutes per game, leading to 10-20 minutes total. It’s not a lot of time, but it does make the games more competitive, and it’s the only way to get an entire tournament done in a few hours.
We set the matchups ahead of time, and then we play several rounds on several boards. (Imagine there are 6 chess sets, and 12 players play on those for each round, with not all players in every round. You don’t have to know anything ahead of time, just show up and we will tell you when you are playing.
Digital chess clock
Tournament Trophy
The Sheldon King
Our trophy - to be taken home by the winner, and returned for the next event, is “The Sheldon King” - named after Henry Newton Sheldon, a former member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the early 20th Century. He was a very good chess player.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does any of this cost anything?
No. It’s free to watch or play. That being said, the great venue we have it in is a bar/restaurant, so we hope everyone eats or drinks something, to make it worth it for the restaurant.
Q: Is this a serious/rated tournament?
No. This is best thought of as games between friends. A few people in this group do play seriously, but we're all just looking to have a good time. Playing speed chess makes the differences in ability less important at this level.
Q: What do people wear?
Everyone is coming to play after work, so your work clothes will be fine, unless you have a really strange job.
Q: How good are the people who are playing?
Probably 1/3 are beginners, 1/3 are people good enough to play tournaments, and the rest are in the middle. Nobody is above 2000, in terms of chess rating. (No one needs a rating to play.) If you want to play, just let us know your approximate experience level for the pairings.
Q: Can I learn to play chess and then come?
Yes! If you’ve always wanted to learn, this is a great excuse. Learn the moves, go to chess.com, watch some videos, play a few games, and you’ll be ready.
More Tournament Pictures
