What a Thursday
actually looks like
You walk in, find a table with a board on it, and someone gets you a game. That is the whole of it. You do not need to own a set, read notation, or have played since you were nine.
Casual chess is always free
No US Chess membership, no rating, no entry fee, and nothing to register for. Turn up and play. The only thing you might spend money on is dinner, and you are not obliged to do that either.
Come and go as you like
Friends and families are welcome any time after 6:00 PM and can leave whenever the evening requires. There is no start time to be late for and no session to sit through.
The evening, in order
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Arrive whenever suits you
Doors from 6:00 PM. Look for the tables with chess sets on them — there will be a few of us already playing.
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Say hello and we will find you a game
If you have come on your own, tell someone. Pairing up newcomers is the job we enjoy most, and nobody is going to ask what you are rated.
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Play as many games as you feel like
No clocks unless you want one, no scoresheets, no rounds. Take a break, order food, play again.
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Leave when your evening needs you to
Mid-game is fine. Nobody minds, and there is no result being recorded.
For parents
Children are genuinely welcome, and plenty of our regulars are here with their kids. A parent or guardian stays with children under 12 — we are a chess club, not a drop-off.
The club keeps a limited number of sets and clocks while it gets established, so if you own a set, bringing it is appreciated. It is not required, and nobody will be left without a board.
About the room
The club is still trying rooms out, so check Events for this week before you set off — that listing carries the address for each night and is the only place that is right the week we move.
What does not change is the kind of room we look for: somewhere children are welcome in the evening, with food and drink a few steps from the boards and no obligation to order anything. A parent should be able to have a decent evening while their child learns the Sicilian at the next table. That is the test a room has to pass.
First visit
- When
- Thursdays, from 6:00 PM
- Where
- See this week
- Cost
- Free
- Bring
- Nothing — a set if you have one
- Ages
- All; under 12 with an adult
Finding us
Every listing on Events names its own room and full address, because the room can differ from one week to the next. Park up, head inside and look for the tables with the chess sets — or for whoever is setting them out.
If you cannot see us, ask at the bar or the counter. They know we are coming.
What's happening at the other tables
Some of the room will be playing something more serious: the Superior Grand Prix, our own season-long league. Four players of similar rating sit down together, play each other once each with clocks running, and the results go to the US Chess Federation for a Quick rating — the national rating used for faster games. It costs $5 a night and runs from 7:00 PM.
You are not in the way, and you are not expected to join. It is simply the other half of the club, happening in the same room. If it ever looks like something you fancy, you can enter any week of the season — people join halfway through all the time, and missing weeks does not knock you out.
Where we meet
The club does not have a permanent home yet — it is trying rooms out around Superior, Colorado and the surrounding towns, and the Thursday evening is the part that is fixed. Whoever hosts us gives us the room and the food and drink, and that is a genuine part of why the evening works.
So there is one answer to "where is it this week", and it is the events listing. It is fed from the club's own calendar, so it is right the moment the room changes.
Photography at club events
We take photographs at club nights and publish a selection here and in club communications, to show what the club is like and to welcome new players. If you would prefer not to appear — or not to have your child appear — tell an organiser at any time or email ContactUs@SuperiorChess.club, and we will respect that without fuss.