Forty hours of my week are spent at the office here at Wholesale Chess. That’s a lot of time spent with other people – which is why building a good relationship with them is important to me. So here’s a thought – what better way is there to enjoy the game of chess and get to know my coworkers better than to play chess at work!

I recently spoke with John, a Wholesale Chess member and a member of a corporate sponsored chess club at a major insurance company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who shared with me his experiences in starting up a chess club at work along with another employee in his office.

“The founder sent an email out to all employees at our Cedar Rapids location, basically asking people to reply if they might be interested in a chess club. Once she had a list of about 30 people, then she went about talking to facilities and reserving a conference room for the first meeting.”

“We had over 20 people show up the first meeting. Since then, we’ve met a few times in large conference rooms and 12-25 people show up at each meeting. We started with monthly meetings, but are moving to meeting every two weeks.”

According to John, the meetings may not be perfectly organized, but everyone has a good time and enjoys playing chess with other coworkers. The club currently doesn’t have any kind of ranking system or organized round robin – many players set up their chess sets and play whoever is nearby. When a game is over, players rotate to play someone else. Most people make an effort to play everyone, or at least people they haven’t played before or recently. A few of the people have entered chess tournaments before, but most are just involved to play recreational chess.

John points out what he sees as the most important thing to remember when setting up a chess club at work: “Just get people in a room playing chess. You don’t want them to get hung up on rules or procedures, especially at the start. Our chess club has no bylaws or constitution, just a one page set of rules.”

Looking to start a Chess Club at work? Here are a few things to consider:
1. Get permission to contact employees and find out who’s interested
2. Check for facilities early on to see if a meeting place at work will be possible
3. Establish a regular time and place, and remind your members regularly
3. Don’t get hung up on rules or procedures – have fun with it!

Are you a member of a corporate sponsored chess club? Share your experiences with us! Need more help or ideas? Ask a question and I’ll find answers for you.