It’s hard enough for most folks to focus on one chessboard. Try playing eight games at once. Aaron Peeks drummed up publicity for the Chess Club he advises during a College Coffee tournament Tuesday that had the assistant professor of sociology squaring off against faculty, staff and students in front of dozens of spectators.
Peeks challenged as many as eight people at a time (and nine games total), offering students $10 toward their Phoenix Card if they won. If the game ended in a draw, students received $5 toward the card.
If Peeks won the match, they “received a free chess lesson,” he joked in a note to E-net advertising the event.
“It really is all about puzzles,” the third-year faculty member said the week before his chess challenge. “If you like Sudoku and all that other stuff, chess if for you. The only problem is that on a chess board, an answer may not exist.”
At least one student, sophomore Brien Berry, triumphed over the professor. Others? Not so much. “In the beginning I was doing alright,” said freshman Sam Kahane. “But I didn’t even notice as he was taking all my good pieces.”
Peeks has played in tournaments across the United States and cited pattern recognition as a key to juggling more than one opponent at a time. His wife stood yards away on Tuesday, taking photos as her husband moved between boards, and the Times-News in Burlington even came out to cover the competition.
The goal at College Coffee, Peeks said, was to raise awareness of the game and attract more students to the weekly club meetings where he shares lessons with students.
“Ideally this will bring more attention to it,” he said. “Plus, it’s fun.”