Recent Status Report from the President of the Charleston Chess Club

December 16th, 2021

The Charleston Chess Club (CCC) meets every Monday at 7:00pm in the education building of Bethel United Methodist Church.  The Bethel Church is located at the corner of Calhoun and Pitt Streets in downtown Charleston, SC.  The address is 57 Pitt Street. The education building is next to the sanctuary.  There are twenty-five free parking spaces on Monday nights behind or beside the education building.  Most of these spaces are on gravel, but some are paved with white lines.  No paved parking spaces marked with yellow lines are available, and Palmetto Parking may boot any vehicle using them since these spaces are leased from Bethel Church.  In the education building, the CCC meets in a small chapel on the first floor.  Bathrooms and drinking fountain are near the chapel.  Chess players enter in the two doors nearest to Pitt Street.

The CCC is open to all ages including children.  Attendance at meetings has ranged from nine to fifteen in recent weeks.  In the past, the CCC has had several children attend its meetings, but none in recent months.  Some players are just learning the game, but most players have extensive experience.  James Bickley is president of the CCC and Gary Firestone is vice-president.  Both are retirees.

James (Jim) M. Bickley

 

Charleston Chess Club scheduled to meet again on Monday, May 17, 2021

May 13th, 2021

Due to email outages of web editor, information is limited. See earlier posts for time and place of meetings at the new downtown location. We will update as soon as email is re-established.

CCC Meetings stalemated until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted

June 23rd, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, CCC meetings have been suspended until further notice. This crisis has had a major impact on chess activity, but has probably increased the amount of online play. If you have not experienced online play, it is a good time to give it a try. We will post any news about meetings resuming as soon as possible.

New Venue for the Charleston Chess Club and Meeting Night

January 29th, 2020

Jim Bickley has announced that a new venue for the CCC has been procured with a new meeting night on Monday’s. The weekly meetings starting February 24 will be on Monday nights (7:00pm) at the education building of Bethel United Methodist Church in downtown Charleston. Bethel is located at the intersection of Calhoun and Pitt Streets, not far from the College of Charleston. This venue has twenty-five free parking spaces. The last meeting at the Church of the Holy Cross will be on Wednesday, February 12, with the last tournament at that site on Saturday, February 15. See the announcements elsewhere on this site for the tournament details. We thank all at the Church of the Holy Cross for allowing us to utilize the church facilities.

15th Pat Hart Memorial Scholastic, February 15, 2020

January 29th, 2020

Click below to download flyer:

46th Snowstorm Special – February 15, 2020

January 22nd, 2020

Fall 2019 Scholastic and Adult Quads – November 2, 2019

September 29th, 2019

Click below links to download flyers:

No Meeting on July 3, 2019

July 2nd, 2019

Due to the Independence Day holiday on Thursday, July 4th, there will be no meeting scheduled for Wednesday night, July 3rd. Many have said they have holiday plans and won’t be able to attend thus no meeting is scheduled that night. Normal Wednesday night meetings will continue on July 10th.

David Causey – Announcing My Retirement from the CCC

June 6th, 2019

As of July 1, 2019, my active involvement in the CCC will end as I am moving over 40 miles from Charleston and will not be able to continue my active role with the club. I will continue as the Treasurer until such time someone is elected to replace me so club finances will not go neglected. We desperately need interested and active members to step up and “grab the reins” to keep our club viable at the Daniel Island location.

Our club is financially sound and just needs the involvement of those that want to continue our weekly meetings and occasional Saturday tournaments. Over the years, we have been able to have quarterly one-day tournaments which have been well supported by both adults and scholastic players. This seems to be the most popular schedule and, hopefully, can continue in the future. All of our tournaments only require a “club tournament director” level so many could take on that role to help with our tournaments. I sincerely hope that many will be inspired to accept that task.

Since returning to chess in 2001 after a 10 year hiatus and taking on an active role with our club and our state association, it is time for me to step aside for others to invest their time and effort into the game we all love and appreciate. As I bow out of my involvement with the club, I will be available to advise and train anyone who seeks to replace the position that I have held for so many years. I’m always available by email or phone and will be glad to assist. Also, I will be attending my final meetings on Wednesday nights in June so I hope to see many of you before my departure.

Many thanks to all for your support and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

David Causey

CCC Championship 2019, May 11, 2019

April 11th, 2019

Click on the above file to download the flyer.