At Cal State Monterey Bay, Chess @ CSUMB is the university’s chess club, welcoming seasoned players and newcomers alike onto the board to test their skills and sharpen their minds in casual and competitive play.
“My favorite part of chess has to be when I win. Seeing the checkmate at the end, it’s just pure dopamine,” said Salvatore Eze, a fourth-year computer science major and club president.
Founded four years ago, the club has consistently held friendly competitions for all skill levels and a long list of tournaments, open to not just fellow Otters but faculty and the community.
However, according to Eze, a lifelong chess player, the club is more than just about chess. It’s a safe space anyone can join in learning how to play, relaxing and enjoying the camaraderie and community it has to offer.
“It’s nice that a sport like chess has been here for centuries, and people still come and play it. The older generation, the younger generation, are both still intertwined in a way. I don’t know what words can quantify that, but it’s beautiful,” said Eze.
The stigma often associated with chess is that it can be discouraging and challenging to learn and play for those who are setting up the board for the first time. For Eze, he wants the club to destroy that notion entirely.
“You have to be ready to lose. One thing about chess is [it’s] all about resiliency. You have to learn from your mistakes,” he said. “It took about 20 matches to get my first win. I lost a lot. I lost terribly, but you have to sit back and learn [from] your mistakes. It helps build resilience. You have to lose to get better.”
Chess is a game of skill and strategy—one right move can lead to victory, while a wrong one might just cost you the match. But for Eze, winning or losing isn’t the point. He says it’s more about the practical lessons you learn when facing adversity in a sea of decisions.
“One thing about chess is you have to have a plan. In life, you need a plan. You can’t come out with no plan, you’re just going to fail, right? You always have to have a plan…that’s how you win this life,” he said.
If you are interested in testing your chess skills or want to learn how to play, you can join them in their meetings held every Monday and Wednesday from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in Room 210 at the Otter Student Union.