While some students may be at a stalemate as to what to do during sub-zero winter weather, a group of Iowa State students and Ames residents are inside playing chess.

ISU graduate Roger Gotschall founded the Ames Chess Club in 1983.

“The club exists to promote and develop scholastic chess,” Gotschall said.

The club is a university/community organization and is registered with the Student Activities Center. It also is affiliated with the Iowa State Chess Association (ISCA) and the U.S. Chess Federation, he said.

As a part of the U.S. Chess Federation, members may compete in national chess tournaments.

One national tournament, the Ames Chess Festival, has been hosted by the Ames Chess Club for the past 14 years. The festival is a nationally-rated chess event and usually attracts nearly 100 participants.

Paul Kapke, faculty adviser for the club, said chess is a fair game because everyone plays by the same rules.

“Chess is a lifetime sport where someone who is very young and someone who is very old can sit down and play on equal terms with each other,” Kapke said.

The club is not limited to adults. Several Ames students are also playing chess.

Both Kapke and Gotschall teach chess to students in the Ames school system. During the school year, they teach elementary and secondary students chess before and after school and on weekends.

About 200 students currently are playing chess in Ames community schools, Gotschall said. Ames students also participate in chess tournaments.

Kapke said the grade school children he works with seem “eager, excited and enthusiastic.”

Shamsul Shaikh, graduate student in computer science, has been playing chess most of his life and finds it an exciting game.

“A lot of people play chess on the Internet and are surprised to learn about the club,” he said.

Gotschall encourages anyone to join or visit the Ames Chess Club regardless of chess experience.

“Anyone can learn chess, from kindergarten to age 90,” he said. “Chess is a lifetime sport of pure skill with no element of luck, and it is easy to compare skill and ability.”

The chess club meets on the first and third Thursdays of each month from 6 to 10 p.m. in the Pine Room of the Memorial Union.