Emporia Chess Society

Emporia Chess Society
Emporia, Kansas

The Emporia Chess Society is an informal association of chess players and supporters in the Emporia vicinity of east-central Kansas. The society was organized by Emile Darga and Chris Seeman in 2003. The club meets twice weekly for recreational chess games, analysis, instruction, and practice.

People of all ages and levels of chess experience are welcome! Preschool to seniors, beginner to expert players. There is no charge or membership fee. Come every week or just when you are able to play a game of chess. Bring your own chess set, if you have one.

Granada Coffee Co.
809 Commercial
Saturdays: 1:30-4:00 pm

Javacat 5
610 Merchant
Mondays: 6:30-9:00 pm

Chess coaches: James Aber and Robert Hossfeld have received chess-coach training from the Karpov International School of Chess in Lindsborg, Kansas (see below). They received instruction from Grandmaster Yury Shulman and International Masters Pascal Charbonneau and Irina Krush in 2004. They are available to help beginning players understand and improve their chess skills.

**Sidewalk chess at the Granada Coffee Co.**

Photos by A. Spencer and B. Blaufuss.

ECS News

Oct. 2011: Kari Bowles and Jim Aber from ECS opened the Karpov Chess School in Lindsborg, Kansas for the annual Hyllningsfest parade and celebration. Many people visited the school, and some played chess!

Left: preparing to watch the parade in front of the school.
Right: visitors playing chess inside the school.

Dec. 2010: Lixiao (Lisa) Huang and Jim Aber represented ECS at the Lindsborg Open, where Lisa won the Top Unrated trophy for her first tournament competition. Congratulations Lisa!
Nov. 2010: Emporia State University has recognized an official student chess club, organized by Lisa Huang. The ESU chess club meets in conjunction with the ECS; all students are welcome!
Oct. 2009: Chess in the afterschool Quest program is underway again this year, and the ECS is pleased to help. James Aber is coaching students at Lowther Intermediate schools (5th & 6th grades), and Dusti Howell has started a chess program at the Turning Point Learning Center, a K-8 charter school in the Emporia district (USD 253).
Feb. 2009: Beginning last autumn, Robert Hossfeld and James Aber have been conducting chess classes for the local public schools as part of the after-school Quest program. They are currently supervising students in elementary and intermediate schools in the Emporia district.
Sept. 2008: ECS is now meeting Monday evenings at the Javacat 5 coffee house (see above), which provides longer hours for us to play chess. We continue to meet at Granada Coffee on Saturday afternoons.
June 2008: Pyramid Pizza recently closed, so Saturday meeting changed to Granada Coffee Company (see above).

September 2007: James Aber returned lately from a trip to Slovakia and Poland, where chess playing and wooden chess sets are quite popular. He acquired a hexagonal chess set designed for three players. This game was selected as the best new product in Poland in 2005. The game is exciting and fast paced. Without any opening theory, tactics and temporary alliances become more important than long-term strategy for winning.

Six-sided chess set for three players from Poland. The three-color division of the board is for beginning players of this game. All pieces move just as in normal chess, but the added dimension makes for many more possible moves.
Vertical view from a church tower of outdoor chess at a souvenir stand in central Košice, Slovakia. For a small fee, anyone can play chess.

July 2007: Zach Button took first place in the scholastic division of the Kansas Chess Open tournament. Congratulations Zach, who has become a top contender in Kansas scholastic chess!
Feb. 2007: James Aber presented a pair of leaded stained-glass panels to the Karpov Chess School in Lindsborg, Kansas. He designed and built the panels, which depict stylized king and queen chess symbols. The panels are displayed in windows of the school. Aber made similar panels for the Emporia Chess Society, which hang in windows at the Granada Coffee Company.

Susan Aber (left) and James Aber (center) hold stained-glass panels in front of the Karpov Chess School along with school president Marck Cobb. Photo by John Marshall, Lindsborg News-Record.

Related sites

Karpov Chess School, Lindsborg, Kansas.
Kansas Chess Association.
Kansas Scholastic Chess Association--see KSCA.
U.S. Chess Federation--see USCF.

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Last update Dec. 2010.

	Six-sided chess set for three players from Poland. The three-color division of the board is for beginning players of this game. All pieces move just as in normal chess, but the added dimension makes for many more possible moves.
	Vertical view from a church tower of outdoor chess at a souvenir stand in central Košice, Slovakia. For a small fee, anyone can play chess.