American River College’s Chess Club has been a staple of the club scene for quite some time. While no current member of the club was able to provide information on when the club was founded, the earliest mention by The Current was on Nov. 4, 2015. 

After its temporary shut down during the pandemic in 2020, the club returned in 2023 with new members.

Luke Bourez has been the club’s current president since 2023 when he and a few others restarted the club.

Bourez’s reason for stepping into the role of president was casual.

“I felt like it,” Bourez said.

The Chess Club has a very relaxed attitude, with new members constantly joining. Two new students even joined the club during the Oct. 29 meeting.

“We plan to do more event type stuff instead of purely just playing chess with each other. Tournaments are the main one, with also learning [events],” Bourez said. “Chess is already a challenge on its own and planning is another challenge.”

According to Bourez, the Chess Club’s size has more than doubled compared to last year, averaging nine members during meetings compared to four. The club continues to grow as students attend their meetings and join their Discord server.

“There hasn’t been much challenge when it comes to being president. It’s been a lot of work planning things like the tournament,” Bourez said.

The club has an extremely relaxed atmosphere, and this atmosphere extends to the other officers of the club.  During the meeting members chatted about every topic from game strategy, what sports they were watching or even how people’s days were going. It felt more like a hang out than an actual meeting. While the officers did speak on the operations of the club, they did so during games of chess.

“The Chess Club is pretty low maintenance, there haven’t been too many difficulties. It’s more about being present,” said Ethan Henning, the club’s treasurer. “It’s pretty fun. The people here are cool, so it’s quite enjoyable.”

The only complaint members had was the lack of food as during the meeting the treasurer learned he could in theory use club funds for snacks. Otherwise, the club is welcoming and beginner-friendly as members are eager to teach others how to play and improve. 

For more information, or to become a member of the ARC Chess Club, students can visit the Chess Club web page.