Chess Board Diplomacy!
The Livingston County Chess
Club meets every Monday night between
4pm thru 10pm
at the Buffalo Wild Wings in
the Green Oak Mall in Brighton, MI.
Stop in for some friendly chess, good food
and 'refreshments'.
Everyone of all ages and playing strength are
welcome to attend. And free lessons to all beginners!
Our 2025 LCCC Action Tournament finished and
the winner was Dr. Ken Tack with a 3-0 record.
Second place was shared by a host of players – Curt
S., Pete B., Dave W., John O., and Jon C.
This is a testament to the strength and balance of our chess club. Thanks to all contestants!
The next and last tournament for 2025 on the schedule is the 2025 Club Championship. But our illustrious Tournament Director is scheduling it to start after the holidays. So, this tournament will start on January 5, 2026.
This Club Championship is totally free of cost so come by for a
tournament feel without any financial risk. The time limit will be 60 minutes / game with a 5
second delay. We normally plan on starting around 6:30 pm. The tournament will
go 3 or 4 rounds, depending on entries.
Now for a little American chess history not
usually known – Part 2:
Just as Benjamin Franklin was about to leave
Europe and return to the safety of the colonies, an invitation to a chess game
was offered. The offer was from a prominent socialite of London by the name of
Lady Howe.
Very negative political rhetoric had been
across the Atlantic Ocean for some time (times never change it seems). But this
was a contest that the Brits and the Colonies could still engage in without
personal risk.
The invitation had no political significance at
the start. And it did not have to, for Franklin to accept. He simply loved the
game that much. Homesick and possibly in some personal danger of arrest in
Europe, he still could not say no to an invitation to sit at a chessboard.
“The game of chess is not merely an idle amusement.
Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life,
are to be acquired and strengthened by it.”
Benjamin Franklin played chess whenever he
could. He traveled with a miniature chess set. Probably the first one ever
made.
He showed up at the Howe residence expecting a dinner, some wine and a chess game. What he received in addition to the game, was a discussion of how war could be avoided between the two sides. Also present at the pre-chess game dinner were Lady Caroline Howe’s two brothers; General Sir William Howe and Admiral Lord Howe!
Admiral Howe was in charge of the Channel Fleet which was given the
duty to block supplies from France to the Colonies, in order to make the
colonies pay the English taxes on goods.
The chess game was held. Who won is a mystery. However, the photo seems to show Lady Howe with the advantage in body language if that means anything.
The negotiations after the game, however, did not go well.
Franklin declined to give a decision then and there but stated he needed to return to the
colonies first and then give an answer once the British offer had been discussed.
In his response letter to the Howe’s was at first polite and then got terse. Ben Franklin
wrote in conclusion, “It is impossible we (the colonies) should think of submission.”
So, the attempt at chessboard diplomacy failed.
And the rest is history.
.png)