The first one is the RA Chess Club in Ottawa. Although I do live in Toronto right now, I've lived in Ottawa when I was little. It's the place where my chess career began and where I played in my first tournament. There is a chess club in Ottawa that would run every Thursday evenings and my parents would take me there every week. At first, the club didn't allow kids that were under 14 years old to join, but I believe that I was their very first exception. At that time, I was a 8 years old girl whose feet couldn't even reach the ground when sitting on the chair! The friendly environment and all the nice and kind people around me made me excited every Thursday because I knew that I would be going to the RA Centre that day!!
Personally, I've received a tremendous amount of support from the club members. Some sponsored me to play in the WYCC in 2003 and others gave me chess books and printed opening lines to prepare me for the tournament! I had a wonderful time at the RA Chess Club and that's definitely a place that I would want to visit often and of course, it will forever be in my heart. Thank you RA Chess Club and all the members for everything!!!!!!!!!
If you're chess player living in Ottawa and need somewhere to play chess, I would definitely recommend the RA Chess Club to you. I promise that you'll find your experiences there just as incredible as mine! Visit their website - http://ottawarachessclub.pbworks.com/
The second amazing chess club is the Scarborough Chess Club (SCC) in Toronto. When I moved to Toronto 2 and a half years ago, I was looking for a club to play chess and found the Scarborough Chess Club right away. At that time, there were only a few masters in the club - I believe it was just Bryan and John. Nevertheless, I was sincerely welcomed to the club and during these 2 years, I'll had a great time there. Recently, the club moved to a new location with a much bigger and better room. However, that's not what makes the club so significant to me. It's the people in the club that makes the club so friendly and worth attending weekly.
Many of the SCC members have contributed greatly toward the Chess in the Library program. Maurice Smith, the current President of the club, has donated 6 demo boards so that our dreams of teaching some basics about chess can become a reality. Bob Armstrong, who publishes the club's newsletter and enters games into the database, has also donated a box of chess magazines to add to our program's chess library. I want to thank these two people for not only supporting the program, but also for making the Scarborough Chess Club possible.
Here are some pictures taken at the Maria A. Shchuka library:
The demo board - thanks Maurice!
Michael teaching in front of the class
Kostya busy making the parings :)
Playing site at the Maria A. Shchuka libraryI hardly ever miss a game at SCC because after going to the club for more than 2 years now, it almost feels like as if it is my second home. I really appreciate the existence of this club and without a doubt, I would recommend it to anyone who likes to play chess and lives in Toronto. Check out their awesome website - http://www.scarboroughchessclub.ca/
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