One goes. Then the other. Pieces gracefully move about the board. Finally, one player's king falls.
Ball State University's chess club history runs deep. Its popularity has varied through the years, at one time boasting a membership of more than 60 students. Yet enthusiasm for the game seems to be down these days. Students and community members flocked to the Wendy's on West Jackson Street on the weekends for several years to find a competitive chess game. Now that's gone, too.
'This fall, people just stopped going,' Frank Owens, a professor of computer science who went to Wendy's to play for years, said.
Howard Hammer, associate professor of business law, said five to 10 community members showed up regularly at Wendy's, though there were no set times. They came Saturdays and Sundays in the early afternoon then left when they were tired. Hammer used to lead Ball State's chess club and is hoping to find students who are interested in playing some games on campus.
Finding membership is his first goal, but he said in order to get students together, he needs to find someone to spearhead the organization.
'If you have a student who is highly motivated, the organization works,' he said. 'I'm willing to help them get organized, but I can't generate activity.'
Once interested students are gathered, Hammer said he would like to start regular meetings or perhaps even a lecture series about chess. He said they also could compete in tournaments and become affiliated with the United States Chess Federation, a not-for-profit group linking chess players across the country.
'The biggest problem is continuity,' he said. 'You build the club, but you must also plan for the future.'
Hammer said he thinks another big problem in getting people together is scheduling.
'People want to play, but little things like life get in the way,' he said.
When Hammer came to Ball State in 1976, he said it seemed like students had more time and often met to play a game of chess. They frequently gathered at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center, then at Flying Tomato Pizza, a restaurant that was in the Village.
Then for about 10 years, Hammer coached chess to students at Burris Laboratory School and the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities. The academy went on to win a state chess championship in 2000.
'We didn't have the best players, but they studied hard,' he said. 'They were better at the end of the year. It was a great teaching experience.'
Hammer said he thinks chess has developed a reputation that doesn't really fit the game.
'It has a serious stereotype, but don't let that mislead you,' he said.
He said the variety of the game and pattern recognition keeps things interesting. That's why some former Ball State students, even though they had long since graduated and gone on with their lives, continued to stop by Wendy's for a game or two.
Owens said that people may return to Wendy's for chess. But for now, Hammer said many chess fans catch a quick game online in their spare time.
'Chess is an action game in many ways,' he said. 'It's seeing an exciting game, then figuring it out.'
More students will be exposed to the game next fall. Owens is in the process of planning a class for the Honors College that will focus on chess. Knowledge of how to play coming in is not necessary, as the class will cover everything from chess's history to the rules of the game. After that, he said he'll leave the material covered open to discussion.
'There are all kinds of things that I could do,' he said.
Owens said he thinks it's unfortunate that chess at Ball State has fallen to the wayside.
'I hope I can remedy that once I do the Honors course and try to generate some interest,' he said.
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