CHESS this Sunday, November 9, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

First, apologies from our Starbucks venue go to all those chess players who came by to play chess this past Wednesday: Starbucks had to close for the rest of the day due to leaks caused by rain and wind that fouled up their electrical systems that had to do with the areas in which the baristas do their work.

That said, we do look forward to meeting again there this coming Sunday, November 9, 2025 to welcome players of all ages and skill levels for the enjoyment and challenge of chess over the boards with new and old friends alike! Players can come and go anytime from 3:00 p.m. to closing time; there are no dues; and, the first player who solves the chess puzzle of the day wins a free tall Starbucks drink of choice! See you there!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick note to say we're at it again over the chess boards this Wednesday, November 5th, at our regular Starbucks venue in the Clayton Shopping Center! We meet there every Sunday and Wednesday afternoon from 3pm to closing time as players of all ages and skill levels are welcome to come and go anytime!

Last Sunday, we welcomed yet another young player and all indications are that he plays chess quite well, as you will find out! Our next sessions will feature slightly tougher chess puzzles to solve, compared to the last couple puzzles. The first player to solve a puzzle on the first try wins a free tall Starbucks drink of choice!

See you soon, and certainly be open to making new friends and perhaps renewing old friendships as you enjoy the fun and challenge of chess!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Sunday, November 2, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

This past Wednesday our chess club welcomed yet another set of twins, along with their mom, who also plays chess! The turnout was great for a workday, as about twenty or more players came by to enjoy an afternoon and evening of chess over the boards! It was also good to see Alwin and Mystic again, after a long absence from the chess boards!

We meet every Sunday and Wednesday afternoon, from 3:00 p.m. through to closing time, at our regular venue, the Starbucks in the Clayton Shopping Center, just a couple driveways up from the corner of Ygnacio Valley Rd. and Clayton Rd. Players can come and go anytime; there are no dues; and, there usually is a chess puzzle to solve, and the first player solving it on his or first try wins a free tall Starbucks drink of choice!

See you soon, and it's always a pleasure to make new friends, and certainly to renew old friendships!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Wednesday, October 29, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

We meet every Wednesday and Sunday afternoon from 3:00 pm through to closing time (players can come and go anytime) at the Starbucks located at 1536 Kirker Pass Rd., in the Clayton Shopping Center, which is just a couple driveways up from the corner of Clayton Rd. and Ygnacio Valley Rd.

We welcome players of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to masters and all in between. Last Sunday we welcomed Addi and his twins Zion and Sante to the club, and our thanks go to several regular players such as Benoit, Patrick, Andrew, and youngsters Jacob and Samuel for helping to introduce the twins to the game of chess over the boards!

We meet again today, Wednesday October 29th, same place, same time!

Looking ahead: The announcement has officially come out regarding the 17th Golden State Open scheduled for the Martin Luther King Weekend January 16-19, 2026 at the Concord Hilton in Concord, California!! Many of us will be competing in that tournament, for sure! For details, go to chesstour.com or to the Continental Chess website.

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Sunday, October 26, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

This Sunday, as we do every Sunday and Wednesday afternoon, we will meet from 3:00 p.m. through to closing time at our regular Starbucks venue, located at 1536 Kirker Pass Rd., in the Clayton Shopping Center. All ages and skill levels are welcome, and players can come and go anytime to enjoy the fun and challenge of chess over the boards! There are no dues, and the player who solves the day's chess puzzle on his or her first try wins a free tall Starbucks drink of choice! Last Wednesday it was Irakli who figured it out and won a caramel macchiato!

Sundays have been a real chess treat, with several kids, their parents, and of course quite a few regular chess players convening to get their chess games up, up, up...! (Kinda like the KPop Huntrix kids dancing to "Golden" last Sunday, as they took a quick dance and sing-a-long break from their chess game when the top tune came over the Starbucks sound system.)

See you soon, and be open to making new friends and perhaps even to renewing old friendships!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

We meet again at our usual Starbucks venue (in the Clayton Shopping Center) this Wednesday, October 22nd, as we do every Sunday and Wednesday afternoon from 3:00 p.m. thru to closing time.

All ages and skill levels are welcome to enjoy the fun and challenge of chess over the boards.

There are no dues, and players can come and go anytime. Be the first to solve the day's chess puzzle on the first try and win a free tall Starbucks drink of choice!

Our chess session this past Sunday saw quite a fun turnout of chess club regulars mixed in with a host of returning players along with at least 9 kids of various ages to total well more than 20 players, not counting friends and family and several others taking in the impromptu "chesstival"! Join us, and make new friends, and perhaps even renew old friendships!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Sunday, October 19, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

Players of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to masters, are welcome to join the fun and challenge of chess over the boards with us every Sunday and Wednesday afternoon from 3:00 p.m. through to closing time. Come and go anytime, and there are no dues!

We're located at the Starbucks in the Clayton Shopping Center, just up from the intersection of Clayton Rd. and Ygnacio Valley Rd. There usually is a chess puzzle to solve, and the first to solve it on the first try wins a free tall Starbucks drink of choice! No player solved last Wednesday's surprisingly tricky puzzle on the first try; however, it was Matt who earned bragging rights by being the only player who eventually solved it!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

There's more chess over the boards this Wednesday, October 15th at our regular Starbucks venue, in the Clayton Shopping Center from 3pm to closing time! We meet there every Sunday and Wednesday afternoon, and players of all ages and skill levels are welcome to come and go anytime and enjoy the fun and challenge of the game! There often is a chess puzzle to solve, and the player who solves it on the first try wins a free tall Starbucks drink of choice! (Ben C. won the prize last Sunday.)

Hope to see you there!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Sunday, October 12, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

There's more fun, challenging chess over the boards this Sunday, Oct. 12th, at our regular Starbucks venue in the Clayton Shopping Center, which is just a couple driveways up from the intersection of Ygnacio Valley Rd. and Clayton Rd. We meet there every Wednesday and Sunday afternoon, as players of all ages and skill levels (from beginners to experts and masters) are welcome to come and go and play the game from 3:00 p.m. to closing time. There usually is a chess puzzle to solve, and the first player solving it on the first try wins a free tall Starbucks drink of choice!

Among about twenty or more players that stopped by to play chess last Sunday were at least 6 kids (e.g., Jayden, Aaron, Kaya, Lana, Samuel, Jacob) who whose ages ranged from 7 - 11 yrs. It was really cool to see an adult player or two or three help the ones who are beginners with the basics of the game!

Hope to see you there!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

We had a good turnout this past Sunday at our regular Starbucks venue, enhanced by several kids who were there to learn about the fun and challenge of the game of chess! There to learn and be welcomed to the club were Kaya, Jayden, Aaron, and little Max, along with Delilah and Aria. Interestingly, there was young Samuel (7- years old and quite good at the game) helping them with the proper chess moves!

Drop in and get your game up this Wednesday (we meet every Wednesday and Sunday afternoon), same place, at the Starbucks in the Clayton Shopping Center, from 3:00 p.m. on through closing time, as players can come and go anytime for chess over the boards and to perhaps make new friends and even renew old friendships!

As new players have come aboard over the past few months, they are also welcome to see me to add their contact email addresses and contact numbers for club news on an ongoing basis. Conversely, players who have not come by in more than a year could be dropped from the club's email list, unless they let me know they want to continue to receive these emails (I really don't want to unnecessarily clutter up anyone's email in-boxes).

We welcome players of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to masters and all in between! There are no dues, and oftentimes there is a chess puzzle to solve, with the first player solving it on the first try winning a free tall Starbucks drink of choice!

For more chess, I understand that the old chess group that met at the La Scala cafe in Walnut Creek some time ago would like to start up again at that same spot every Tuesday evening from 7:30 p.m.

See you soon,

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Sunday, October 5, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

We meet every Wednesday and Sunday afternoon from 3:00 p.m. to closing time at our regular venue, the Starbucks located in the Clayton Shopping Center, for the fun and challenge of chess over the boards!

We welcome players of all ages and skill levels, and this past Wednesday we certainly welcomed 8-year old twins Jayden and Aaron, along with their 10-year old sister Kaya, as all three are learning how to play and enjoy the game of chess! We also welcomed a young man named Jesus; and, we also welcomed back Wesley after a short absence -- and oh yes, after a long absence . . . Irakli!

The offer or challenge is still good, that is, win one two-game set against a certain member of this chess club mentioned in a previous post -- once playing the white pieces and once playing the black pieces between now and the Golden State Open in January 2026 -- and win a grande Starbucks drink of choice!

Perhaps we will see you this coming Sunday, October 5th, ready to enjoy a chess game or two or three, and to make new friends, and perhaps even renew old friendships! There will also be a chess puzzle to solve, and the first player to solve it on the first try wins a free tall Starbucks drink of choice! See you there!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

We're playing chess over the boards today, October 1st at our usual Starbucks venue in the Clayton Shopping Center from 3 pm thru to closing time. All ages and skill levels are most welcome!

See you there!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Sunday, September 28, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

Let's play some fun, challenging chess over the boards this Sunday, Sept. 28th, at our regular Starbucks venue in the Clayton Shopping Center, which is just a couple of driveways up from the intersection of Ygnacio Valley Rd. and Clayton Rd! We meet there every Wednesday and Thursday from 3:00 p.m. to closing time as players of all ages and skill levels are welcome to come and go anytime! There are no dues, and there's no purchase required (though it would be nice...).

Looking ahead, the annual Golden State Open will be held in January, 2026 at the Concord Hilton during the long MLK weekend! Several of us will surely be competing in that tournament --- and this writer will definitely be gearing up for it. (His game does definitely need some work... and any one player that gets two wins over him playing both black and white pieces between now and mid-January also wins a free grande Starbucks drink of choice!)

See you at our Starbucks venue, and be open to making new friends and even to renewing old friendships!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS Wednesday, September 24, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

It's Wednesday and there's an afternoon of chess as usual from 3pm to closing time at our regular Starbucks venue in the Clayton Shopping Center! All ages and skill levels are welcome, there are no dues, and players can come and go anytime to enjoy the fun and challenge of chess over the boards. There's also new friends to make, and maybe even old friendships to renew! We meet Wednesdays and Sundays, same place, same time, see you there!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746

CHESS this Sunday, September 21, 2025 at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick note to say that this Sunday, Sept. 21st, we will meet again, as usual, at our regular Starbucks venue, 3pm to closing time. Come and go anytime, all ages welcome, from beginners to masters and all in between!

----- Mike T.
Contra Costa Chess Club
US Chess Federation
Affiliate Club ID #A6024746