Gil Carlson Crowned King Of Severna Park Chess Club

After a summer-long round-robin tournament, the Golden Knights Chess Club, a joint club of the Annapolis Chess Club and the Severna Park Chess Club, crowned its latest champion, Gil Carlson of Severna Park, at an awards ceremony on July 18.

Chess can be traced as far back as the 1500s with origins in India and southwest Asia. The first official World Chess Championship was held in 1886. The first American world champion was Bobby Fischer in the early 1970s, a particularly poignant accomplishment as he defeated a Soviet Union champion during a politically charged period of U.S. and Soviet relations.

In Severna Park, tensions are not nearly that high, but the militarist game of strategy is just as popular.

“I think chess continues to be popular today because of the intricacy of the moves and the almost infinite possibilities in each match,” said Severna Park Chess Club president John Benkert. “It can be a very enjoyable game. It makes you think, and every match is different.”

Chess masters often strategize 10 to 12 moves ahead, trying to anticipate the seemingly infinite number of moves an opponent could make, followed by what their next move would be. That’s a lot of mental maneuvering.

“You can think ahead all you want,” said Benkert, who’s been in the Severna Park chapter for more than 20 years and has been president for the last four, “but if an opponent does something you didn’t expect or anticipate, you have to rethink everything.”

This club championship is the second of its kind that the club plans to do annually. Club members voluntarily enter the round-robin tournament, which means players compete against each other twice and the one with the most matches won is declared the winner. The top three competitors receive trophies, along with the highest senior and most improved players. The tournament begins in late spring and runs until all matches are completed. The tournament was sponsored by Forget-Me-Not Flowers in Millersville, and the awards ceremony was held July 18 at the Severna Park Starbucks.

“If you’re looking for competitive in-person games with no commitments and easy to get to,” said Carlson, a five-year-member, “the club is a great place.”

The combined chapters meet in person three times a week for drop-in play. They meet Sundays and Thursdays at 1:00pm in Severna Park at the Starbucks on Ritchie Highway, and on Tuesdays at 4:00pm at Whole Foods Market in the Annapolis Town Center. The usual drop-in is 20 players or more, with players as young as 9 years old through seniors. The play is competitive during the matches, but Benkert assured that “it’s all friendly play.” New members and anyone curious are always welcome to stop by.

For more information on the Golden Knights Chess Club or either chapter, contact John Benkert at jbenkert111@verizon.net or Joe Coppola, Severna Park resident and president of the Annapolis chapter, at jrc14@comcast.net.