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Chess In the Media

Major leaguer Lidge pitches chess to teammates (Rocky Mountain News)

Cherry Creek High graduate and Houston Astros closer Brad Lidge closes out opponents in baseball and chess.

Drafted by the Houston Astros in 1998, Lidge earned the closer role in 2004 and shone throughout the season and in the National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Although the game of choice for most major-league ballplayers is Texas Hold 'em, Lidge is working on popularizing chess with his Astros teammates. He plays regularly with teammates Lance Berkman, Morgan Ensberg, and Brad Ausmus.

Young masters learn moves from father (The Intelligencer)

It's every parent's biggest fear and hope, in a way. After all, if a kid learns to top his or her parents, dad and mom must be doing something right.

Bob Lakata said he was "shocked" the first time his daughter, Elizabeth, beat him at chess. She was only eight or nine at the time, and started learning the game from her dad when she was five.

"I couldn't believe it," said Lakata, a Huntingdon Valley resident. Elizabeth, now 15, remembers feeling the same way.

Coffeehouse Chess: Chess lovers meet twice a week at local restaurant (Kernersville Journal)

Three years ago, John Scott was a novice chess player who wanted to move from online chess to playing on a real board with real people across from him.

He started a chess club at the Kernersville Family YMCA with the help of Bruce Boyer, its director at that time. The group soon outgrew the space and began meeting at Panera Bread restaurant Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

The impromptu games are open to anyone, and attendance ranges from a handful of people to more than 12. Fewer people come in the summer while winter games have more people and children participating, organizers said.

Do you know of an interesting, humorous, or unique chess story published online? E-mail us at newsletter@uschess.org.