Introducing Chess Club; Check it Out!

By Chava Herniter ‘23
The Chess Club is one of the newest clubs at Golda Och Academy, just starting this school year. Every Wednesday during lunch under the awning, the club members meet to play a series of intense intellectual matches. From beginner to advanced, all players are welcome. 

The club’s co-founders are juniors Rafael “Raff” Turetsky and Elias Kishelev, who are happy to share their skills and love for the game with the GOA community. 
The origin story of the club is a rather unique one. Both leaders admit to seeing several students playing chess online throughout the school day last year. Each also enjoyed playing online at home and during lunch. 
As time passed, they decided they needed a club as an outlet for like-minded individuals to come together for a game of joy and acumen. 
“No one wants to play chess alone,” Kishelev said. “Chess is about playing the game and becoming a victor. Defeating a robot limits the fun.” 
Kishelev and Turetsky had already started playing chess together during lunch prior to founding the club, but decided to make an official opportunity for the rest of the high school to play. The Chess Club was a hit at the club fair, where over twenty students signed up for it. Turetsky’s and Kishelev's suspicions were correct: the people want chess.
Multiple members have expressed their passion for the Chess Club. One member, senior David Heimowitz, immensely enjoys participating in the club. 
When asked how Chess Club transformed his life, he said, “Really, how hasn’t it changed my life?” 
Heimowitz describes a stressful life before Chess Club, filled with essays and piles of assignments. With the Chess Club, he is able to have a moment of peace and relaxation; a time to hang out with his friends and experience the fun of playing chess, a game meant for thinking but not about the pressures of everyday life. 
“Now, pretty much, I can just be laid back and have fun,” Heimowitz said as he raved about the activity. “Is that because of Chess Club? I can’t say, but yes—it is completely because of Chess Club.” 
Sometimes a game of chess is just that—fun. 
However, Chess Club is more than simply a fun way to relax. It is a learning experience. 
Junior Daniel Shapiro said that it “allowed [him] to get better planning skills.” 
Through making time for a game that strengthens your mind, transforms people and that creates a community of players dedicated to each other and the game, Shapiro is truly exercising his mind for the better. 
Heimowitz has a final piece of advice for the student body: “[Chess club] will help you with your college essay, somehow.” 
Senior Joshua Goldberg puts the essence of the Chess Club best, emphasizing the joy of the game.
Goldberg simply says, “I have fun.”