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Almost every day after school, 10-year-old Aidin Comlin plays with kings and queens in the spacious, warm-toned Chess Club of Fairfield County. "Playing chess is fun, I learn," said the young Norwalker, who has been playing for six years.
That is exactly what Melvin Patrick and Daniel Lowinger had in mind when they opened the club in January at 710 West Ave. They want to "change how chess is seen," said Patrick. "What we want to change is to have that picture, include that person include everyone so they can see themselves here.
The two-story club features a downstairs lounge with a television. Upstairs is a large open room with tables for chess, a television for watching championship matches and a computer on which to display demonstration games. There are plenty of windows that allow daylight to rush in. "We're bringing chess into the light," Patrick said.
The club includes a "more adult" room where chess masters will play when they come for tournaments. Thats where Alanna Katz of Armonk, N.Y., teaches women and girls on Wednesday evenings for a fee of $10 for non-members.
Katz is a candidate master, "one of the top women players in the country," according to Lowinger. Katz said she started playing when she was a "very awkward" middle school student and that her passion for the game drew her out and made her confident. Chess is enjoying a lot of popularity among the younger set, she said, because of instructional software and websites like Chess Tempo.
Her students include Rhythm Satav, 7, of Stamford. "I wanted to learn chess, but my mom didn't have time," said Rhythm. She sat across from Cecilia Nicholson of New Canaan during a recent class, and Nicholson didn't cut her any slack. "You have a lot of good ideas, but you have to connect your ideas," she said after taking a piece.
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