By Heather Cass, Publications Manager, Penn State Behrend

Chess is a complex game, with sixteen pieces of six types, each moving in a different way. Players must not only master the rules but also develop strategies and tactics to defeat their opponents while adapting to every move.

Kelvin Li, treasurer of Penn State Behrend’s chess club, said the game is worth the effort, especially when he finds the tactic—whether it’s a beautiful move or the only move—that will win the game.

A tactic in chess is a series of moves that gives a player an immediate advantage. Tactics are usually short-term and involve forcing moves that limit the opponent’s options.

“It is incredibly satisfying to find the tactic because they are very difficult to spot, especially for new players,” Li said. “After so many games, you usually develop an intuition and can more quickly spot good moves. But even that is rarely simple because you must think about all your opponent’s possible responses to your move.”

No two chess matches are the same, but there are patterns. A player who can spot the pattern gains the upper hand.

“Advanced players usually study these positional patterns and how to play them, so if they recognize them in a real game, they gain a solid advantage over their opponent,” Li said. “While real games are usually quite messy, knowing what you can work with and how to exploit it is important.”

Spotting patterns is something Li, a dual major in mathematics and physics, is well-versed in. Math can be considered the study of patterns, as it focuses on identifying, analyzing, and describing repeating structures and relationships with numbers, shapes, and other mathematical concepts.

Li began playing chess in high school and was pleased to learn that Behrend had an active chess club. The club, which meets on Thursday nights in the Reed Gaming Lounge, includes a mix of intermediate to advanced players, but they enjoy teaching newbies as well.

“We welcome all players,” Li said. “In our weekly meetings, we play casual games to foster a positive learning environment where newer players can play and learn from some of the more advanced players.”

Each month, the club holds a chess tournament with prizes. To level the playing field, they adopt the Swiss system, a non-elimination tournament format that pairs players with similar scores. The winner is the player with the most points at the end of the tournament.

“Chess is an adversarial game by nature, so we always encourage healthy competition,” Li said.

The practice has paid off. Last semester, the Behrend team won the Carnegie Mellon Chess Open, held at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, besting CMU by a half-point to win the top spot. Competition was stiff, with teams from the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University Park, Shippensburg University, and others participating.

In November, at the Pennsylvania State Chess Federation’s Pennsylvania Team Championship in Shippensburg, the Behrend club won the top college team prize and tied for first place out of thirteen college teams.

The club will compete in the Ira Lee Riddle Memorial Championship in Harrisburg in March and the Pennsylvania State Game/29 Championships in April at the University of Pittsburgh.

Follow the chess club at instagram.com/psbchessclub.