ANSWER:

The short answer is just show up at our Club on Monday nights, register and pay the $10 + HST drop-in fee at our front desk (in the Great Hall), and then go play chess in our casual section (usually the Sun and Star Rooms). The larger Sun Room is great for social chat/banter while playing. The smaller Star Room is for those who want more quiet. Players of all ages are welcome.

All equipment is provided including a clock, should you want to play a timed game. Scoresheets are also provided in case you want to record your game moves for analysis later at home. We also supply free bottled water, and coffee can be purchased for $0.50. Ratings don’t matter in the casual section and players play whomever they want.

Casual memberships are available. There are approximately 40 nights per year to play casual chess at ACC, so a casual membership often makes sense.

Players are free to play classical, rapid, blitz or variants. (Ever try 4-player individual or team chess on a single board?)

Our casual section is generally set up for 12-20 casual players per evening. Sometimes, we might even do an unrated rapid game ladder for the evening. A few times each year, your casual membership or nightly fee might score you a rapid or blitz simul game against one of our titled club members or even a visiting IM or GM.

You’ll often see our ACC Casual Chess Ambassador and ACC Board member, Michael Sutton, hanging out in the Sun and Star Rooms on a Monday evening. He can assist and even start you off with a casual game or two, and maybe even a quick lesson if you’re new to the game.

Finally, casual chess is great for helping seniors maintain their brain health and socialization skills and to just get out and have some fun. It's a low stress activity and relatively inexpensive.

ANSWER:

Some things for parents or guardians to consider:

1. Bring your child to our Club for some ORIENTATION. Let them play some drop in casual chess by paying a $10 drop-in fee to start with. Help them to observe how a tournament works. They run every Monday night from 7:30 PM on. You and your child can learn a lot by just watching what happens on a Monday club night.
   
2. Attend an ACC/CIC drop-in chess class by registering online. Consider enrolling your child in a series of classes. Both in-person and online options are available.
3. Read our website pages under the menu heading EDUCATION. There’s a lot of good information there. Take note of our webpage called CHESS IMPROVEMENT—It’s all in the Mindset. Buy and read the book (as an invested parent).
4. Speak to some of our BOARD MEMBERS at the Club. They usually wear orange (or red) hats that say Annex Chess Club on them. Get some help assessing what your child already knows about chess. Talk about online and over-the-board experience, existing ratings. Ever been to a club before? How good a listener is your child? How well do they relate to adults and other kids? Do they easily socialize? Are they introverts or extroverts?
5. Talk to some of the other parents whose kids play at our club. They can give some good advice on what worked with their kids. Consider making Monday nights at ACC a family affair.
6. While playing some casual chess, get your child used to writing down their moves in proper chess notation using a SCORESHEET. Also, get them using a CHESS CLOCK by playing some timed rapid games (maybe 15 minutes per player plus a 10-second increment). Confirm whether your kids understand the rules of chess, especially castling, en passant, check and mate, rules for draws, etc. Learn and reinforce, with your kids, the ETIQUETTE in behaviour associated with the game of chess. Talk to your Kid’s and see how motivated they are to play chess. Consider adding some regular CHESS PUZZLE PLAY into your child’s weekly routine provided they are motivated to try this.
7. We can help you determine an action plan for your child to move forward fairly soon with some targeted instruction and tournament play. Look for a balanced mix of class time, casual play and tournament play. More than anything, try to HAVE FUN with your child at our Club and keep the experience light and easy-going, especially at first. Your child will need a Chess Federation of Canada (CFC) membership if they’re going to participate in rated tournaments, e.g. at our club. Consider getting an ACC full tournament membership too. Talk to us, and we’ll help you with those memberships.
8. Sign up for some SPECIAL EVENTS at the club—e.g. rapid or blitz tournaments, team events, simuls with titled players; add lots of casual chess to build confidence and to learn how to socialize in the Club environment. Then move on to rated tournaments with classical time controls.
9. For girls, consider signing them up in the TORONTO WOMEN’S CHESS CLUB (TWCC). It’s intended to be a nurturing and friendly environment for women players.
10. Remember our motto and practice the philosophy—CHESS FOR EVERYONE! Tell your friends to bring their kids too. Help grow the Club. We all benefit.