Summerside Chess Club
2007 - 2024
History
2005
The original chess club was called, ironically, "The Summerside Chess Club," and was started in 2005. It was run from the French school, Ecole Sur Mer (in Summerside).
The chess club attracted children, teenagers, & adults.
Unfortunately, this club only lasted until the end of 2006.
2007
Alex Davies came up with the idea to continue hosting a chess club. Alex is a teacher. So, logically, the new chess club was aimed more towards teaching children. He thought about changing the name of the club, but decided that, since the club was held in Summerside, (that's also where he lived), that he would simply continue the club with the name, The Summerside Chess Club. He did, however, shorten the name by removing the word "The" from it, thereby changing the name to "Summerside Chess Club". However, when speaking, you simply say "The Summerside Chess Club", so he figured that that would be adequate enough for a name change.
The Summerside Farmer's Market had lost its venue at The Shipyard Market, and was now being held on Saturday mornings, in a hallway at Three Oaks Senior High School. The start for the Chess Club took place on the floor of the hallway, using only 1 chess board.
The (new) Summerside Chess Club consisted of children aged 5 - 9. Alex was the coach, and he had 1 adult helper. The new club was held at The Summerside Rotary Library (the old train station), in "The Upper Room" (2nd floor).
2008
The club continued at The Summerside Rotary Library. It was a good start to the beginning of a decade & a half of chess.
2009
We were asked to leave the library, as the upper floor was now needed to host special functions (just like the market had to vacate the Shipyard Market, to make way for weddings). We were now located in The Board Room at Trinty United Church. As we moved, we gained a bigger space, and also new members. The core members of the club, however, were still there... though there were a handful of new children. The Summerside Chess Club joined the PEI Youth Chess Association (PEI YCA), and was now able to participate in monthly chess tournaments, as well as providing the children with a CFC (Canadian Federation of Chess) national chess rating.
2010
The Summerside Chess Club started on the floor at The Summerside Farmer's Market. Since the market now had a permanent home in the basement of the Holman Building, the chess club too, now had a table @ the Farmer's Market.
2011
The Summerside Chess Club had to leave The Board Room (a Sunday school classroom) at the church, but simply moved across the hall into another Sunday school classroom.
The chess table at the market moved tables (we were volunteers), but we still had a table at the market.
2012
We moved to our new (& final) Sunday school classroom, at Trinity United Church. We now had over a dozen children attending chess club each week, and we continued to attend the monthly PEI Youth Chess Association chess tournaments. 1 of our young members won the Under 13 PEI Provincial Scholastic Tournament, and attended the Canadian Chess Challenge.
The chess club at the market moved tables again.
2013
The club at the church was still going strong, and we now had children, teenagers, and a few adults. The chess table at the market was also doing well. In June of 2013, Alex Davies accepted a position as a teacher in an orphanage school, at an orphanage in Uganda, East Africa. The Summerside Chess Club donated 10 chess boards to the orphanage. He also introduced chess to the orphanage, and taught a chess club of over 30 kids, plus a number of the teacher's how to play chess. The Ttega Chess Club had been born.
2014
The club at the church was still going strong.
The move from a smaller table to a larger table near the entrance of the market is most likely the reason why the Summerside Chess Club has done as well as it has, over the years. It was an ideal fit... the table next to us was an educational table, advertising The Family Place, day care & nursery school. Being next to the entrance, we were able to attract anyone and everyone who entered or exited the market! We also now offered children different exercise books to work on.
2015
The club at the church was still going strong.
The club at the market was still going strong.
2016
The club at the church had its last meeting in January of 2016. Like at The Shipyard Market, the church wanted the classroom for other purposes.
The club at the market was also still going strong.
After 2 years of inactivity at the orphanage, chess returned in full swing!
2017
We lost our spot at the church but gained a spot at the new Summerside Rotary Library.
The table at the market was also still going strong. The Farmer's Market continued to be a major point of interest for the children.
The kids at the Ttega Chess Club were playing chess every day.
Years later (while in secondary school), one of his protégѐ's from the (original) Ttega Chess Club, went on to win the Masaka Regional Chess championship.
2018
The size & location of the chess table at The Summerside Farmer's Market has been significantly reduced, but the chess table continues to provide a form of interest for not only the children and youth, but also to adults.
2019
Alex Davies returned to Uganda, and lived there full time.
He moved to a different orphanage, and was the orphanage manager & primary caregiver.
Using boards donated by the Summerside Chess Club, the PEI Youth Chess Association, and other people from around the world (who made donations to the orphanage), he taught the entire orphanage how to play chess..
2020
2020 was the year of the pandemic. In Uganda, all schooling stopped, so I decided to homeschool all of the children. I based their curriculum on the national curriculum, but made a few changes, and included chess as a part of the curriculum. I made notes that the children's fine motor skills, problem solving skills, and math skills improved dramatically during this time. Chess simply became a part of what the orphanage was all about!
2021
The children were still had no school to go to, so homeschooling continued. Every child, at every grade level. Chess became even more interwoven into the homeschooling curriculum. I saw, first hand, the changes that were happening to the children, so as opposed to simply having chess as a part of math and as an extra-curricular activity. I was very pleased to see that even though the children had to use chess as a part of their schooling, they still choose to use chess as a part of their play, as well.
2022
Alex Davies returned to Canada. It's unclear whether or not he intends to stay... time will tell.
The chess table at the market is still a major point of interest to the children at the market, as well as to some of the adults.
A chess class was taught at Community School (for adults), held at Summerside Intermediate School.
Chess club is held every Saturday at Summerside Rotary Library, from 3pm - 5pm. The club is only for children and youth.
2023
The chess table at the market is still going strong (for children & adults).
Alex was talking on Facebook with Ttega Child Development Centre, and a volunteer brought a chess board. Ttega still had 6 of the MANY chess boards donated over a 6-year period. They told the volunteer about The Ttega Chess Club, and just like Alex has (with the Summerside Chess Club), the volunteer resurrected The Ttega Chess Club!
The chess club at the Summerside Rotary Library is still growing (for children-only). Like we used to, we are participating in chess tournaments, again. In the fall of 2023, we will be beginning to hold chess tournaments once a month. These tournaments will be for children-only.
A chess class was taught at Community School (for adults), held at Greenfield Elementary School (2023).
The Homeschool Chess Club was new as of 2022, but was only for children who were homeschooled. Originally meeting at the Summerside Rotary Lbrary (2022-2023), we moved to The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada (2023). Our last meeting was in June. This club will not be continuing in September of 2023.
2024
The chess table at the market is still a major point of interest to the children at the market, as well as to some of the adults. The market chess table is open to anyone of any age and or skill level,
Chess club is held every Saturday at Summerside Rotary Library, from 3pm - 5pm. The club is only for children and youth.
Chess tournaments are held on the last Saturday of every month, at Summerside Rotary Library. The tournaments are rated with Chess'n Math.