Head Monk
Head Monk
By Paul Anderson
Colorado Springs Chess Club President
The Colorado Springs Chess Club is an affiliate of Chess.com and meets every Sunday night for online chess. We typically have a 30-minute, Blitz Arena at 6:15pm followed by a Rapid Swiss at 7:00pm (4SS, G/10+5).
https://www.chess.com/club/colorado-springs-chess-club?ref_id=7846680
However, things are changing.
The attendance numbers are down this year. With a membership of over 800, you would think we could get a handful of players to show up on a Sunday night! Of course, I am not one to talk, as I am part of the reason for the decrease. My numbers are down from 43 events in 2024 to 28 in 2025.
My excuse for not showing up on Sunday night is that I got a new job this year: Head Monk.
After 26 years of being Assistant Monk, I was thrust into the leadership role at the Gaming Monks chess booth in Larkspur, Colorado.
This means that I have to show up both Saturday and Sunday for 8 weeks at the Colorado Renaissance Festival to keep this chess promotion tool going that Buck Buchanan started when he was the President of the Colorado State Chess Association.
I wasn’t sure I would like playing all 16 days at the chess booth, as I was only Assistant Monk for 2-3 days in the past three years with Buck. However, it turned out to be the highlight of my chess year.
Fortunately, the 2025 President of the Colorado State Chess Association, Earle Wikle, stepped in to help out as Assistant Monk to keep this long-standing tradition going. Many thanks to him for his assistance as I learned the ropes at my new level of Monkdom.
I finished the year +534-11=0 with a 97.98% winning percentage. It is quite the ego boost and a nice reminder that, perhaps, I do have a talent for chess after all.
But, after close to 40 games a day, on a huge chess set, needless to say, I am too wiped out to play more chess online Sunday night.
So, if you want to play me next summer on Sundays, you’ll have to stop by the chess booth!
Tuesday Night Chess
By Paul Anderson
Colorado Springs Chess Club President
The Colorado Springs Chess Club is an affiliate of USCF and meets every Tuesday night for OTB chess. We typically have a month-long, Swiss tournament (G/90+30) at 6:00pm. See the calendar for details:
https://sites.google.com/view/colorado-springs-chess-club
However, things are changing.
The attendance numbers are up this year. With only a dozen or so Supporting Members, you would think only a handful of players would come down to the club on a Tuesday night! But our numbers are the best we’ve had since I have been running things.
Year Total Unique Events Average
2026 23 21 1 23.00
2025 351 110 21 16.71
2024 303 95 14 21.64
2023 234 95 13 18.00
2022 126 56 11 11.45
2021 117 61 8 14.63
2020 64 31 6 10.67
2019 280 71 19 14.74
2018 323 62 20 16.15
2017 232 50 19 12.21
2016 201 54 16 12.56
2015 157 52 13 12.08
Grand Total 2411 435 161 14.98
While space prevents me from mentioning all 110 players who came out to play some chess in 2025, I do wish to thank all of them for helping make the club a continued fixture in the Colorado Springs entertainment scene.
However, I do have some space to mention our 2025 champions.
In October, we held our 59th Colorado Springs City Chess Championship. Daniel Marmer won his first city title and became the 39th player to hold this title.
In November, we held our 2nd Colorado Springs City Quick Chess Championship. FM Gunnar Andersen came back for a 2nd city title, this time a Quick one in addition to his Speed title. He became the 2nd player to hold this title.
Unfortunately, Gunnar was too Quick for me and finished his games before the prize presentation. (see below: right, Paul Anderson, not pictured, Gunnar Andersen)
In December, we held our 30th Colorado Springs City Speed Chess Championship. Rhett Langseth decided to stay ahead of Gunnar and picked up his 3rd city title (1 City, 2 Speed). He has moved into 5th place on the All-Time title list behind LM Josh Bloomer (11), Dan Avery (10), Paul Anderson (8), and NM Buck Buchanan (5).
