National Chess Day Heroes

Howdy! It’s The Chess Friends!

Wow, y’all loved Danube Chess: the post got over 600 views in just a week! Thank you so much!

October 11 is coming up, and do you know what that means? It means…

Happy National Chess Day!

In the United States of America, the second Saturday in October has been recognized as National Chess Day for almost 50 years now!  It turns out that in 1976, while celebrating our Bicentennial (200 years of independence), President Gerald Ford decided to make a holiday to celebrate chess! Just before that, Bobby Fischer won the World Championship in 1972, so interest in chess was very high.

Today, chess players celebrate this day by playing fun tournaments and thanking chess heroes: strong US players and clubs that promote the game. We, The Chess Friends, also would like to acknowledge the heroes of our chess world:

The Chess Parents!

We estimate over 10 million school age kids in the USA play chess, whether online or over the board, based on ChessKid and USCF data. There are an estimated 54.1 million school age kids in the country, so around 20% of the US kids are playing rated chess. Surely many more are playing casually as well. Of those 10 million, approximately 100 thousand are competitive over-the-board players with USCF ratings!

Our Friend Peshka demonstrates those numbers with this doughnut chart, where the green area shows the chess kids, and the yellow shows kids with a USCF rating, out of all the US kids of school age (gray area)!

Behind these kids, supporting, encouraging, and helping at every step of the way are many unsung heroes: coaches, tournament directors, organizers, staff, volunteers, teachers, and perhaps most important of all, our Parents. Thank you!

The Myth Sarang and The Legend Vivaan

Siva, our Dad, is an amazing person. We thank him for getting us started with chess, by showing us how the pieces moved, getting us coaches, helping us make friends, partners, and connections that help us grow and enjoy our chess journey. Our Mom, Aarti, is incredible! She helps us track progress, manage our expectations, navigate challenges, and control our emotions. They also started us with music, tennis, choir, and a bunch of other cool things! They provide us a lot of the food we eat, are very friendly, kind and fun, and have supported us in all our struggles and achievements alike!

For chess, you get us to the playing hall well in advance and make sure we’re calm and in the right mindset for the game ahead. They often say hi to our opponents and opponents’ parents and help us make new friends. After each game, they are waiting to celebrate and encourage us, whether or not we won, drew, or lost, and they usually get us good food as well! Also, when we’re mad, they do an incredible job helping us either find a quiet place to let us be or take a nice walk to help us mentally reset. Thank you for being the greatest role models for us and thank you for being such great friends as well!  You have both helped us so much in becoming good people. None of this would’ve been possible without you both. You’re the goats!

The Man Benji

My parents are the best! I thank them for so many things, like teaching me chess, getting me a coach, and signing me up for tournaments! They also help me with so many other things, like reading, writing, and math, and they even introduced me to volleyball! They are always very supportive and friendly when I’m feeling sad!

When I go to chess tournaments, my parents drive me there, help me find my seat, and eagerly wait for me to finish, ready to celebrate with me when I win, or make me feel better when I lose. They also get me snacks and food, and help me stay hydrated! When we go home, they always want to look at my games, win, draw, or lose, to share their curiosity with me. They help me overcome difficulties and become a better person! If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be the same person I am today. They’re amazing people and the best!

Our thanks extend to other chess parents we encounter at tournaments! You are all so kind, helping us to find our parents when we finished our game, but our parents are not in sight. You all have encouraging words not just for your own kids, but for other chess kids, listening to the recollection of our wild games, offering high fives, and sharing food!  

Fellow Chess Kid Friends, give your parents an extra hug today. Thank the coaches, TDs, organizers, staff, volunteers, teachers, and all those you see who help you on your chess journey. We get to play and enjoy chess thanks to them, and that’s the greatest gift of all!

Lastly, we couldn't sign off without some parent chess jokes!

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My dad said it's easy for trees to play chess online. "How?" I asked.

"They just log in," he answered.

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My mom says we should never play chess when it's foggy.

Because we can mist a tactic!

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Why didn't mom make lunch for her chess kids to take to the tournament?

Because she didn't have enough thyme.

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What did dad make us the day before the tournament?

Mac 'n' Chess!

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Where do the chess dads keep their kids' games?

In a da-da-base!

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How did computers become so good at chess?

Because they always listened to their motherboards!

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Three Cheers, Fellow Future Master Chess Friends!

The Man Benji, The Myth Sarang, The Legend Vivi