Each Friday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. at McAlister’s Deli on Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro, near The Avenue, local chess enthusiasts gather for games and good times. Chess players of all ages and all skill levels attend the meetup, known as Murfreesboro Community Chess, to practice for their next tournament, get some in-person over-the-board experience or just gather for a fun Friday evening game night.

Some like to play blitz or bullet, while others like a good, thoughtful, more relaxing two-hour-plus-long contest. Some are queen’s pawn players; others are among the “E4-ever” crowd. Some have competed in many chess tournaments and have extensive formal training. Others have played chess online or casually, but are not officially rated.

But most everyone who plays on Friday nights enjoys improving their game, sharpening their tactics, experiencing the thrill of a victory and socializing with other local chess players.

Igor Zhislin, a fixture in the Murfreesboro chess scene and a former Ukrainian student chess champion, set the community meetup in motion, and after a few moves over the years and some growth, the group has settled on the deli since late 2023.

On some Fridays, up to 20 chess games may be going on simultaneously in the spacious McAlister’s meeting room.

“I love playing chess,” said Caleb Burrows [pictured above, left] , who often attends on Fridays because he “wanted to play more over the board. It’s one time out of the week I can dedicate to chess.”

“Why would we do anything else?” he asked.

The event and the participants seem truly welcoming to all who enjoy playing chess or learning more about the game, regardless of skill level or formal experience with chess. It’s a good idea to know how the pieces move and the basic parameters of the game before showing up, but most advanced players display a teacher’s heart when they find themselves in a game with a newcomer of a lower rating or ability.

Adam Johnson [above, left], one of the ringleaders of the group and a walking encyclopedia of chess openings, can often be found at McAlister’s on Fridays. The former student of Zhislin’s at Central Magnet School and member of the school’s 2014 K–9th grade national champions becomes engrossed in dissecting chess positions, presenting puzzles to others in the group, examining openings, introducing fellow chess players to the world of “chess boxing” (very much a real thing, though no boxing has yet to take place on the grounds of McAlister’s), conversing about preferred ways to respond to the Scandinavian Defense or the Queen’s Gambit, and playing any and everyone willing.

“What’s your favorite opening?” asks Parker Dawes, another former student of Igor’s at Central Magnet, as he gets to know a fellow local chess player.

Now a student at the University of Tennessee, Parker says he still likes to attend the Friday gatherings when he is back in Murfreesboro.

Attendees who admit they don’t necessarily feel they fit into many social situations or athletic programs have found in Murfreesboro Community Chess a comfortable circle of friends at the meetups and a place to be themselves and to learn.

On one summer Friday evening, Zhislin was pleased to see Vivaan Lodha arrive at McAlister’s. A newcomer to the Murfreesboro area and to the Community Chess events, Lodha is no newcomer to the game of chess.

Vivaan’s mother, Ankita, says she has observed the benefits of chess in her son and other children, helping improve mental capacity and focus.

“Chess gives them some of the same satisfaction as video games, but helps with calculation power,” Ankita tells another parent, adding that through the game “kids learn failure early in life.”

Win, lose or draw, the result of the game is what it is. As long as the rules are followed, the loser has no option other than to accept defeat and learn from the positions of the game, but all within the confines of a friendly, teaching atmosphere.

Meanwhile, at another table at the deli, a young player named Jimmy [above, left] says, excitedly, “We’re playing a very weird variant with no promoting and no castling;” in case the standard rules of chess do not provide enough of a challenge, one can find an opponent to play variants of the game such as anti-chess or reverse chess, refusal chess, diagonal chess, endgame or pawns-only chess, atomic chess, bughouse chess or multiple other games with modified rules.

His mother says that Jimmy and his brother want to come to the Friday meetups as much as possible. Many other local parents support their children’s desire to be involved in the nights and immerse themselves in the generally intellectual crowd whose members choose to spend their Friday evening playing chess. Science, geography, brain puzzles, math and technology are all popular topics among some of the attendees. Rubik’s Cubes and other games of strategy are popular with some of the players as well.

Mary Wells Smith frequently brings her son and daughter to the Friday evening chess meetups and says she has been quite impressed with the caliber of young people involved.

“These are the kids that you want your kids to hang out with,” Smith says, adding that she expects some who meet at the chess nights to become “lifelong quality friends.”

Her son, G, who is also a karate student, said that he found that chess has made him better at sparring.

“I see what they are trying to do before they do it,” he observed.

Success in chess, like sparring and many other parts of life, requires identifying a position and quickly formulating a strategy and plan of action.

Whether you’re a casual local chess player looking to have some free fun and meet new people, or a seasoned tournament player seeking a challenge, you can likely find what you’re looking for at McAlister’s Deli on a Friday. Drop in sometime for casual chess play.

This writer has greatly enjoyed diving into the community, meeting some other local players and developing a bit of a rivalry with one McAnthony Tarway, a most worthy young opponent whom I have made my mission to defeat!

Murfreesboro Community Chess meets every Friday, 6 to 9 p.m., at McAlister’s Deli, 2357 Medical Center Pkwy. For more information, find a Murfreesboro Community Chess Facebook group or call or text ‪615-225-7781‬.

Young chess players in the area can also be on the lookout for the Middle Tennessee Scholastic Championship coming up at Central Magnet School on Saturday, Dec. 7.