Caissa Osaka Chess Club and Abeno Osaka Chess Club Visit KYOCHESS in Kyoto

Last 31 January, Kyochess, a group of chess enthusiasts led by Yuya-san, had their Knight Out! social chess meeting in cozy bar Raimunda in the center of Kyoto.

Knight Out! Chess in Kyoto

In a very friendly atmosphere over 10 players gathered to play a mini tournament with as main prize the people met. Indeed, chess showed again to be a powerful enabler to cross cultural/social boundaries and to connect people from diverse background.

And to build connections!

I was very pleased to find Osaka's well established Abeno Chess Club leader, Takashima-san, among the visitors - and what better thing to do to play a friendly game of chess between the representatives of Osaka's two chess clubs Abeno and Caissa...

Abeno Chess Club Takahashi-san with black about to win the endgame against Caissa Osaka Chess Club David Garceran Nieuwenburg

One of the reasons for my Kyoto visit was to check the venue we will be holding the Kyoto Championship, a qualifier tournament for the Japan Championship. And meeting chess friends on the way was a big bonus.

Big thanks to Yuya-san for organizing such chess evenings and to invite me to come over.

Registration is still open.