ENTERTAINMENT Checkmate: LSU students share why they think chess is king

BY EMILY POIRRIER @Emily_Poirrier

If you’ve ever been walking through Free Speech Alley, Highland Coffee or the parade grounds, you’ve most likely come across people playing chess – but why is a game that is centuries old still so popular on LSU’s campus?

The LSU chess community is full of students who started playing chess from a young age, and their love for it has only grown stronger in college.

Brock Forsyth, a member of the chess community at LSU, said he mostly learned chess from taking lessons online, but his uncles are the ones who taught him how all the pieces work.

Forsyth mostly plays by himself, competing against a computer or other online players, but he doesn’t need to be competing against real life opponents to achieve his main goal. He believes that the most important aspect of chess is the learning process and always working to improve yourself in every game.

Forsyth believes everyone should give chess a try.

“I think other people should begin to play just because it’s fun,” Forsyth said. “It’s a simple enough thing to learn the basics of, but it’s impossible to master and the improvement process feels good.”

He noted his favorite piece on the board was the knight. It’s the only piece that can move in an “L” direction, making it unique compared to the other chess pieces.

Claire Hedges, an LSU freshman, benefits from chess in a different way. She says playing chess creates an outlet for her to relieve stress.

“Chess is a very strategic game that requires practice and patience. It requires thinking multiple steps ahead for your moves and your opponents,” Hedges said. “The ability to develop a game plan makes me feel intelligent and gives me a nice break from school.”

Hedges originally learned how to play the game from her cousins and found that she couldn’t stop.

“Growing up in a competitive family, I wanted to prove I was worthy,” Hedges said, “so I kept practicing to get better.”

In college, she’s found many people who feel the same way about chess as her. Several other students have reached out to her at Highland Coffee about playing against each other on Saturday mornings. She prefers playing the game in-person and getting to read her opponent as opposed to playing online.

John Michael Sweat, another LSU student who loves to play chess, said he benefits from the mental aspects of the sport as well. It’s a hobby he has revisited off and on throughout his life, af- ter his uncle taught him to play at a young age.

While Sweat never played in a club or competitively, he finds playing online to be a nice way to relax – although he does enjoy a friendly competition, and he keeps a chess board at his house to play with his siblings and friends.

“Playing chess is a good mental exercise,” Sweat said. “It’s fun not knowing all of the possibilities that can happen. I find it very rewarding.”

Chess is a game that provides an outlet for people who want to push themselves and their minds.

Students view it as the perfect way to relax and take a break from hectic college life on campus, which may be why the hobby continues to grow in popularity.