About

Hello! My name is Kalia Wang, and I am the founder of Win or Learn Chess Club. I started this club as an incoming freshman at Westwood High School, and I am currently a sophomore. I’ve played chess for 9 years, and my current USCF rating is around 1700. Although I'm not the strongest player, I don't believe we have to be masters in order to serve the chess community.

My goal in establishing this chess club is to provide players of all levels with face-to-face playing and learning opportunities. I know that the majority of chess players play online games, but despite its efficiency and ease of access, playing over the board (OTB) has a few notable advantages over playing online. First of all, when you solely play online, it’s hard to get a proper feel for a chess board in real life, which can do yourself a disservice in a tournament. You might miss a pattern you would otherwise see online. Second, it’s easy to play too much blitz or bullet. Although these time controls are more exciting, when played in excess, they'll only harm you when you transition to slower time controls or real tournament games. Third is the issue of cheating. Chess.com has sent me multiple messages informing me that one of my recent opponents has violated the fair play policy. It’s far too easy for people to cheat when they’re obscured by a screen, and it only wastes your time and energy when you fall victim to these players.

In my experience, playing someone in real life helps me take the game more seriously and think deeper, both in tournaments and in casual play. 

My hope is that Win or Learn Chess Club will help spark an interest in those who are new to chess, improve experienced players’ chess skills, or simply provide people with a community to have fun and socialize in. This includes hosting a variety of events to cater to all players.

Everyone is welcome, and we hope to see you at one of our events!