Chess takes off on the Isle of Arran!

Wyllie Hume (Chairman, Arran Chess Club)

The Arran Chess Club started in 2012, meeting in a small restaurant in Brodick, with an average attendance of just four players. Unfortunately, the restaurant closed down and it looked as if the club would fold. However, the Douglas Hotel in Brodick came to the rescue and allowed us to meet every Tuesday at 10am. They have proven to be wonderful hosts; we all buy a drink or two and are often treated to some free croissants, left over from breakfast.

Since then our numbers have grown, we have 22 members but our average attendance is around 14. Players come from all over the island, and although most come from Brodick and Lamlash, we have a strong contingent from Lochranza in the north of the island and also a few ‘soothenders’ as well.

We consider ourselves to be a friendly club. All abilities are encouraged to come along; beginners and folk who don’t know how to play are more than welcome. One of the nice things about the club is that the more experienced players are willing to play the new members and give them advice (if they want it) on their play. It all brings great social benefit to the island as it offers folk an opportunity to get out of the house and meet new people. A big thank you must go out to both North Ayrshire Council and the Auchrannie Resort for their generous donations which helped us to buy much-needed boards, pieces and chess clocks.

We have a strong presence on local social media and regularly send out requests for new members. Chess has taken off globally in recent years and we have gained from that. There are several reasons for this rise in its popularity. Covid resulted in more people looking for things to do during lockdown and many turned to online chess. This, of course, has its place but it is no substitute for the real thing. We had an American tourist visit us a few weeks ago. He had only ever played online, but he enjoyed playing another person over the board and said that when he returns to the States, he’s going to join his local chess club. The film, The Queen’s Gambit has been immensely popular, it captures the drama and tension of chess very well and has played an important part in getting many people into chess.

There is growing evidence that playing chess has many health benefits, one of which is the possible prevention of dementia. In addition to this, it can boost mental health in terms of socialising and learning new skills.

So, if you live on Arran or are just visiting, please come and join us for a friendly game of chess. We are open all year round.

You can find Arran Chess Club – and contact us – on Facebook.