Worldwide Meetup Retrospectacle!
Last weekend, people in local communities all over the world got together to enjoy chess - offline and in person - as we collectively rang in the first-ever Chess.com worldwide meetup with help from our friends at Meetup.com and a LOT of help from 100s of local organizers! (Thank you!)
We have since called out for your pics and stories from the event, and we thank you for your submissions. Here's a little flavor of the chess-fun that was had around the globe...
Columbia, South Carolina USA
Nice venue! Also, apparently very kid-friendly. How many travel chess sets make such a perfect complement to a Dora The Explorer drink-bottle?? Score!
Arlington, Texas USA
"Greetings from Texas. Of the twelve people who RSVP'd, we had nine
show up. J.R. Bentley's was a wonderful host. This local pub has a
great back room, a perfect place for a casual game of chess. The owner
Dana told us we were welcome to return anytime. We arrived at 11:00 AM
and stayed until about 2:30 PM.
Occasionally, a game would get interesting and others would lean over
to see what was happening. The post-mortems became group activities.
Everyone wanted to give their opinion on how a game was won or lost.
We are already making plans for our second meet up." ~ David H
Dover, New Hampshire USA
"The Dover, NH meet up was held at Café On The Corner and 5 Chess.com members attended. A good time was had and some good games played." ~ Scott M (aka "Methos1979")
London UK
After a week or two with Toronto, Canada in the lead for largest meetup community, London overtook the #1 spot and never looked back! Not surprisingly, it's looking like this might mark the beginning of a vibrant new network of chess-friends.
Austin TX USA
The gang at Brainstorm Coworking appreciate a good game of chess!
San Diego CA USA
Healthy crowd of chess enthusiasts in SD!!
(Is it just me, or does that character in the black Chess.com cap seem a little dodgy...)
Vancouver BC Canada
Chess with a side of some of the city's most colorful characters and best cappuccino!
New Delhi, India
Two works! (One... not so much.)
"It was a nice first meet, only two people could make it. But I guess
two was the minimum required and therefore we are happy that our first
meet was successful. Myself and Avinash played three interesting games
and had a great time.
We will look forward to the next meet and hopefully the numbers of the
participants will go up next time." ~Saurahb
Sunnyvale CA USA
Without a doubt, one of the more beautiful venues we've seen! And a giant chessboard to boot!
Too bad about Erik and Jay crashing the party & making everyone play 3-minute bughouse...
Regensburg, Germany
Getting ready to rock in the Stadtpark...
Barcelona, Spain
"Dear chess.com friends,
Congratulations on the initiative of MEETUP DAY!
The Team Catalonia have not failed. We met today in Barcelona and we had a great time. Many people interested in the meeting could not come because in Spain today begin the Easter holiday.
The Bar where we had arranged to meet, was closed for holidays!... So quickly we had to find another place nearby and we found it. This is the poster that we haveclosed the door of the bar:
In the second bar where we went, the owners have been delighted. The women owner of Bar has signed up today at chess.com! And their children too! He told us that we can arrange further meetings there." ~Pau P, Admin of Team Catalonia
...And that's just a fraction of the chess that went down in 100s of cities and towns last Saturday. Frankly, it was so much fun, we've already decided to do it again. So mark your calendars - the 2nd Chess.com Worldwide Meetup is set for June 25!
Hey, maybe we can play in the park!
