Have you thought about learning to play chess but did not have anyone to teach you? Do you know the basics but would like to improve your game? Do you know how to play but lack an opponent? This course is for you. Chess is for those looking for new challenges. As a strategy game, it helps keep your brain active as players engage in planning, analysis, and problem solving. In addition, it’s a great way to socialize and deal with stress and anxiety. Best of all, it can be played just about anywhere and is available year-round. All you need is a board and a partner. Although the basics are easy to learn, people have dedicated years to mastering the game. This course will go over the fundamentals: the rules of the game, how to move and capture pieces, and how to achieve checkmate. We will also go beyond the fundamentals to teach strategies and tactics to improve your game and assist you on your quest to becoming a chess master. Each class will be long enough to play some chess and put your new knowledge to use.

TOM MACK is a former elementary school teacher who ran a weekly after-school chess club for 20 years, including taking students to weekend VA scholastic chess league tournaments. He now spends his days with his wife creating, maintaining, and giving tours of his three-acre botanical garden outside Luray, where visitors may escape the hustle and bustle of life while taking in a variety of picturesque gardens, mountain vistas, strolling paths, and water
features. Google ‘Birdsong Pleasure Garden’ and contact us to schedule a tour. He also spends a lot of time walking Moon, their Covid-rescue dog.