REME Sports
Introducing REME Chess Many people don’t realise that chess is a recognised sport in 100 countries and now its popularity is rising thanks to a successful Netflix series. This month, WO1(ASM) Davie Rose and SSgt Jacob Thomas introduce the REME Chess Club, their vision for it, and their experience playing. Scribe: WO1(ASM) Davie Rose Since ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ screened on Netflix in October 2020 there has been an increase in popularity of the sport chess… Yes, that’s right - chess is a sport! Although chess might not be deemed as physically challenging, it provides a fun and stimulating way of enhancing mental capacity and competitiveness and is an incredibly beneficial sport. Playing chess results in better brain function, improved memory and cognitive abilities, strategic thinking and attention improvement. Our Corps is full of intelligent tradesmen and women, highly skilled at problem solving and strategic thinking, who would benefit from playing chess. One of our Soldiers who has proved this is SSgt Jacob Thomas, who has a fascinating story. A small REME Chess Club already exists at Lyneham and also online at chess.com, run by SSgt Thomas. Our intention is to establish a chess club within the Corps, with the aim to grow in popularity and gain approved status via the Army Sports Control Board in the first instance. Subsequently, we will get the sport recognised as ‘other sports status’ within the Corps. There is no prerequisite chess skill set required to join and all levels are welcome. Given the current COVID situation the club will be run online. This is easy to accommodate, as chess can be easily played online and teams can learn, develop and compete from this platform. The aspiration is to hold a Corps Tournament in Lyneham this year, from which we will form a
One of the venues I have been able to play in
Corps Team to later compete in the Armed Forces Chess Championships 2021. If you are interested in becoming a member of the REME Chess Club, please contact: WO1(ASM) Davie Rose David.rose604@mod.gov.uk) SSgt Jacob Thomas Jacob.Thomas898@mod.gov.uk. Scribe: SSgt Jacob Thomas
Chess really can take you all over the world
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I started playing chess 10 years ago whilst on Exercise Winter Repair in Canada. With no internet, depleted funds and only two games on my laptop I thought I’d have to give it a try. Besides, I had just completed Theme Hospital. Chess Titans was an inbuilt game, with 10 levels of difficulty that proved a formidable opponent. I slowly developed my understanding of how the pieces moved and the patterns of play; eventually I managed to claw a victory from Level 3 and with that I thought I’d reached the end of my chess career. A few months later back in the UK, I found myself
