Meeting Mondays over the Holidays 2022-23. Year Review and Funding of a Chess Club, Part 3

Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays to all!

LCCC will continue to meet on Mondays - 4pm to 10 pm - at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Brighton, Michigan in the Green Oak Shopping Center thru the holidays.

And bring any spare $3 million or more dollars you have lying around doing nothing. LCCC needs a place to live.

This year was actually a great year for LCCC. Membership (attendance really, since we have no dues required) has been on the increase. Our (let's face it) "squatter" location at BWW has worked out well. Actually, too well in your humble scribe's opinion, but more on that later.

Numbers: The rolling average of attendance at our old location prior to the pandemic scare was 12 players a meeting. That blows away most chess clubs except when they run events. LCCC attendance strangely decreases when we hold our in-house events. We must be a casual-coffee house chess sort of club. And that is fine.

Our average for 2022 was 16 players per meeting! Impressive by any measure. We keep a 2-month rolling attendance sheet. Miss 9 consecutive meetings and you are 'dropped' from the rolls. We keep your name and contact info, but you will not be on the current attendance sheet. Immediately re-instated when you do re-appear.

Your scribe did an analysis of the attendee type at the old location (a Senior Center - no food/drink) and our current location (BWW). Here is the breakdown:

Regulars (at least half of the meetings) -   8 at SC, 10 at BWW

Semi-regular (at least once a month) - 3 at SC, 5 at BWW 

New members (first time visit) - 1 at both places.

Even though my smiling face would love to take credit for the increase in regular and semi-regular attendance, I think the food and drink might be more of the attraction. Not to mention the social aspect of other people just being around. Sort of like a restaurant with a line out the door gets more new people in their line than the equally good semi-empty restaurant across street gets in the door. More on that phenomenon later.

As to why we literally have 50 new people a year visit and we seem to only keep 1 or 2 for any length of time is not really a mystery. To paraphrase the late great Hall of Fame baseball manager Sparky Anderson, "If they don't want to visit, no one is going to stop them."

Chess can be scary. Some show up wanting to learn and decide chess is not for them. Some show up thinking they are good and find out they are not that good, and their egos are bruised. Some are too good for everyone at the club, so it is a waste of their chess time to play the average player. But most of the adult players are just that - adults - and life gets in the way of hobbies.

Most new attendees are kids, whose desires to play at the club change for many, many reasons. Sometimes the parents don't like the location or cannot make our Monday night meeting. 

Anyway, the Club is doing well and that is a good thing. If you want to play some over the board chess, Monday night at BWW you will be able to find one. 

But what about the other nights of the week? There are other clubs of course. You may have to travel some. You can find most all the clubs in Michigan on the Michigan Chess Association web site and magazine. Most clubs are hit and miss as far as attendance for the most part. LCCC has more attendance than most, and we still have our off nights.

An established chess club, open most days and evenings would be ideal. Everyone in the surrounding area would know where to go to find a chess game! Sounds like CHESS HEAVEN!

Not so fast! There is the matter of the $3 million (estimate) to buy/build a building, furnish it and maintain it. Then there is the matter of staffing it 7 days a week and probably 360 days a year. Your scribe is a pretty rabid chess fan but showing up at the "Club" 360 days a year is not only not feasible, but it does not even sound like fun. It now has a job/responsibility feel to it.

LCCC actually lived thru this "too much chess" phenomenon already. About 5 years ago some players found a coffee shop that would let us play chess there on the promise we would give them some business as we played. Now LCCC had Monday chess at the Senior Center and Thursday chess at the coffee shop! Chess heaven? Actually, chess burn out. More is sometimes less.

Our average attendance on Monday dropped from 12 to 7 players and Thursdays averaged 4 players. Adding insult to injury, the 4-player on average on Thursday were the same players still regular on Monday, as one of the Thursday person advocates started missing both nights (again, life gets in the way). And not too many people, no matter how loyal, can commit to two nights a week of chess EVERY WEEK.

The fan giant, the NFL, has seen the same thing happen to their Monday Night Football game (thank God as far as LCCC is concerned! Sorry BWW.). It used to be the "show" to watch on Mondays. It was another "party night" for millions of people. It was a ratings (attendance) monster! Bars were packed on Mondays, which before, Mondays were very slow nights for bars. 

But now with Thursday and Sunday night football added by the NFL, not to mention college football adding Tuesday and Wednesday night football, people don't need to 'make plans'. They can see prime time football almost any night of the week in the fall. The Monday night ratings have tanked.

As far as the LCCC oversaturation, the coffee shoppe eventually closed and LCCC returned to just our regular Monday's and our average attendance returned to 12. People can schedule a "special" night for an activity, but if it is available too many nights, people tend to put it off or not treat is as not so 'special'. 

Here's a number that will surprise most readers. LCCC has a "membership" of well over 100 players! This would include all players that show up on "occasion", like once or twice a year or maybe a little more. They love attending the Club, but life, travel, job, living distance, the "wrong" night for them, etc., all stop them from being a regular. 

So to extrapolate all this 'knowledge' and to speculate, LCCC would probably need 2000 members to be able to get an average nightly attendance of 10 to 15 players every night of the week in a permanently established building. Is this even possible in Livingston County? 

Part 4: Next Time as your scribe continues to think out loud about his dream of a permanent home for LCCC.

LCCC Had 20 Players Last Monday! - Will Meet Every Monday over 2022 Xmas! - and Why the Manhattan Chess Club Review?

LCCC will continue to meet on Mondays - 4pm to 10 pm - at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Brighton, Michigan in the Green Oak Shopping Center thru the holidays. Feel free to stop by and bring the new chess set you got as a gift.

So why did your humble scribe decide to post the history of the Manhattan Chess Club? Because LCCC could suffer a similar fate, that's why. LCCC did suspend meetings a few times in our history. The last time was basically for all of 2020 for the COVID panic.

Well, what destroyed the Manhattan Chess Club? Answer? The same three reasons restaurants, bars, and other businesses normally fail - which are: location, location and location!

In 125 years, MCC changed locations 15 times. Not bad really. That is only once every 8 years as an average. But that is the average. There were some short-term locations and that is never good for anyone trying to keep steady members/clientele. Changing locations still has drawbacks even when moving to a better location, let alone a less desirable one. Some people just will not follow you.

We had to leave the Hartland Senior Center because of COVID. We have not been invited back and don't know if the Club would return if it was offered. Nice place, great parking and lighting, and right in the center of Livingston County. But why return to a place that dumped you once when it could happen again? We instinctive learn this in our dating lives, right? 

By the way I never did get my class ring or 8 track collection back! And another thing.......oh sorry - I got sidetracked there.

The solution: A self-sustaining building in a good location with easy access and plenty of free well-lit parking. That is what I want! 

How to accomplish this: I have no idea. 

Well, I do know one way, as any union or government from a town, township, city, county, state or country can show you. Take money from everyone you control. Even from the people that don't want what you want. Then use that money to get what you want or as you want.

There are thousands of historic buildings, radio and television stations, parks, museums, or orchestra, or ballet companies that are not self-sufficient. They rely on government subsidies to exist.  People claim they want them and may even vote to fund them, but they never attend them. But they feel good voting for it. Culture and class by vote I'm assuming.

Chess has no such 'social necessity' or 'artistic' designation. But then again, the public has not been swamped with feel good news stories and advertisements for decades about the 'benefits' of chess, like they have for the other pursuits that receive government funding.

Much like colleges who do to fund their other sports team that don't generate enough cash to exist. Colleges may wish to provide these sport options to the students and some are required by law now. No one seems to care that money is being spent on something the general public really doesn't care about or want to watch. And as is the case with most colleges, it is the public's money being wasted. But no one cares.

There are even 'professional' sports leagues that exist that are not self-sufficient. They are propped up by the sports leagues that are profitable, and by their media corporation partners who wish to waste investor's money on these unwatched sports. Why do they do this? Not going there, thank you very much.

Now don't get me wrong. This is not a rant about life being unfair to chess or chess players, or even about some sports or pursuits getting preferential treatment over chess. Your humble scribe is just setting down the situation as it currently exists.

Actually, I do have one idea. In order to "Build a Chess Building and They Will Come" scenario, you need a benevolent millionaire or group of 'comfortable' benevolent benefactors. 

Chess is not a past time for the masses that participants, let alone non-participants will spend a lot of money to do. The low cost and lack of barrier to entry into chess is one of the game's greatest assets. And the public, although many millions play chess, just don't care enough to ever fund it somewhere. 

Chess needs someone willing to 'seed' the growth of a chess club building. Now, once the building is built and the Club is up and running, ways to generate SOME revenue may come to pass over time (i.e., dues, food, drink, merchandise, tournaments, meeting room rental, teaching classes).  However, there is no working model chess club - that I am aware of - where the money generated for a yearly budget earns enough profit to pay for the operation completely and add to the till. 

There are chess clubs that are running all over the world, with their own buildings, but they were all 'seeded' as I mentioned. Remember costs go up every year, so a profit is required, either by the club or by the investments of the trust fund, or preferably both, every year! It is the duty of the club board to see this happens.

Hence, the benefactor(s) need to put up enough money to build a building (leasing is not an option as landlords come and go) and maintain this building into the future. All while having the Club Trust grow AFTER paying the annual expenses of the Club.

No small favor to ask of a benefactor to be sure. But then, it would be done for the love of the game of chess, and the love of the area/location the club is placed.

Next Article: Brainstorming ideas anyone?

LCCC Champ Crowned! And the History of the Manhattan Chess Club

 

Sorry for the lack of new posts, but life gets in the way of chess writing sometimes.

The Club is still meeting on Mondays at the Buffalo Wild Wing’s in Brighton, MI at the Green Oak Shopping Center. We start at 4pm and go til 9pm at least. Stop on by for the best in casual chess and the occasional free to enter tournament.

Speaking of which, our Club Champion for 2022 is Dr. Ken Tack.

Congratulations Ken!

1^st – Ken Tack

2^nd – Vince V and Vince S.

4^th – Pete B, Sam T, Jeff S., Charlie S

8^th – Max B, Mike N

10^th – Paul M, Tyler B.

Thank you to all who participated! Look for another tournament after the 1^st of the year!  

Here is the 125 year history of the Manhattan Chess Club:

1877 - Chess players met at the Cafe Logeling, 49 Bowery Street in lower Manhattan. Mr. Logeling was a chess enthusiast and eventually built a room in the back of the cafe for chess. {There for 7 years}

November 24, 1877, it was decided to form a chess club. There was discussion to name it the Metropolitan, Morphy, or Manhattan Chess Club.

December 1, 1877, 37 members showed up for the first meeting. The entrance fee was $1 per person and dues were $4 per year.

October 2, 1879, the Constitution of the Manhattan Chess Club was adopted.

May 7, 1883, the Manhattan Chess Club of the City of New York was incorporated in the State of New York. Its board of directors included Leopold Hellwitz, George T. Green, Roscow Channing, Louis Cohn, L.D. Cohn, F.M. Teed, William M. De Visser, J.D. Peters, Charles Saulson, Isaac Rice, and Charles M. Harris. An initiation fee was $10, and the annual dues were $16.

May 1884, the group moved to 22 East 17th Street. {There for 5 years}

May 1889, the club moved to 22 West 27th Street.  {There for 4 years}

May 1892, the club moved to 105 East 22nd Street in the United Charities Building.  {There for 13 years}

1905 to 1910 the Club was located at the Carnegie Hall Building on 56th Street. {There for 5 years}

1910 to 1923 the Club was located at the Sherman Square Hotel, then to Beacon Hotel. {There for 13 years}

1924 to 1931 - the Club moved to a basement on Broadway and 73rd Street. {There for 7 years}

1932 to 1941, the Club was located at the Alamac Hotel. {There for 9 years}

1941 to 1956 the Club was located at 100 Central Park South. {There for 14 years}

1956 the Club moved to the Hotel Woodrow.  {There for 15 years}

1971, the club was located in the Henry Hudson Hotel on West 59th St. {There for 3 years}

1974, the Club moved to 155 E. 55th St. {There for 15 years}

1989, the Club was headquartered at Carnegie Hall on the 10th floor. {There for 1 year}

1990 - The Club later moved to 353 West 46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue on "Restaurant Row." Traditionally, the club was supported by the patronage of Wall Street executives. When they passed away, the American Chess Foundation, which owns the building, fell into the hands of non-chessplayers. They ordered the Manhattan Chess Club to move.  {There for 11 years}

In 2001, the Club moved to the New Yorker Hotel, Suite 1521, 481 8th Avenue. It was open on weekdays from 6 pm to midnight and on weekends from 11am to 11pm.  {There for 1 year}

In January 2002, the Manhattan Chess Club closed due to lack of a location to hold the meetings.

That is a pity and a loss of a great chess landmark. We can’t let this happen to LCCC!

Next Article: Searching for a rich person to grant the funds for a permanent location for the LCCC in Livingston County.

PS: Bidding starts at $2 million.

PSS: But don’t be shy. Going over that starting figure is allowed and encouraged.

PSS: Person with the highest bid gets free membership for life, their own parking spot in the lot, and their own chess table, set and 2 chairs in the club’s private playing area.

PSSS: For a winning bid over $3 million, the philanthropist can pick his own chess set for his table.