March 5 2022

Dear Chess Players and Supporters,
 

Two years ago when I first asked the community for a chess meetup, but with no response. I kept asking around for chess events for a while, but Canmore seems to lack it. On February 18, I posted on the community groups on Facebook for a meetup, and finally, one person responded but asked to reschedule. On February 22 2022, 6 people people showed up.
 

Because it was successful, we called for another chess meetup for March 1. At Elevation Place, 30 chess players had come out to play, and I met most of you who have expressed your support of our initiative. I have continuously been receiving messages from people inquiring about playing with us. So Some community members and local organizations intended their appreciate this initiative.

For me, chess is more than just a game. It is sentimental because way back in the Philippines where I originally came from, it was my dad who taught me how to play it when I was a kid. I have never won against him. In high school, it was a game me and my classmates enjoyed playing during break times. During the pandemic, I have played so much on chess.com that unexpectedly, I made it to the 2021 Chess.com League. During this league, my best record was one day at 99.5% percentile out of 20 million Chess.com players globally, putting me at 175th ranking. I also had the opportunity to meet another local legend, Jonah who is on the 75th rank at the leaderboard. Also in January this year, at the age of 33, I defeated my dad in a chess game for the first time.

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I want to thank one of our Canmore locals named Therese Amman Rogers for donating a brand new chessboard to our club because she heard our needs as a club, and she loves what we are doing. Aaron MoQuin, a General Manager of Canmore Premier (Copperstone Resort), also expressed the same sentiment and pledged to donate a few chess boards and chess timers to support the Canmore Chess Clubs. Of course, Tanya, the manager of Starbucks Canmore, has always sponsored beverages and pastry goods in the past meetups. The Alberta Chess Association secretary, Ian Findley, has also shared our club on their website and has mentioned that they are looking to contribute a couple of chess boards and timers. I also had a chance to speak with the Calgary Chess Club offering help to organize our club. Furthermore, I am looking to get the group as non-profit, be officiated by the international chess governing body, FIDE and get further sponsorships. Also, soon enough I will be needing officers to help me organize our club.

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In the meantime, part of the challenge is finding a venue to host this event regularly. I rented a spacious hall at the Canmore Recreation Centre because I am estimating 40 to 50 chess players to participate on Monday (March 7). The venue is pricy, and I will need players and supporters to donate. I understand that not all of us can contribute financially, so I ask those who can be generous to cover for those who struggle with money. I don’t want money to discourage people from chess. In addition, we will need some funds to cover other expenses associated with operating our chess society. Still, hopefully, we can run projects and get more sponsors to help build future chess champions. I mean, it is not impossible to have team Canmore on the international chess podium.
 
In addition,  I also want to announce that we now have a website. It is www.canmorechessclub.com or www.canmoreclhessclub.ca. The website is still under development but there is some stuff going on there now. Feel free to check it out.
 

I am excited to see you all back and with more people for our Monday open house at Canmore Recreation Centre. We have a big hall to use; please invite your neighbours, friends and family. The more, the merrier.

With kind regards,

 

Jyn San Miguel
 

President and Founder
Canmore Chess Club
www.canmorechessclub.com