Hamilton resident Dragan Milovanovic ponders his next move during the Oct. 14, 2013 meeting of the Hamilton Chess Club. (Photo by Mark Wetherbee, Jr.)
Rudy Szilvasi surveys the board during an Oct. 14, 2013 meeting of the Hamilton Chess club. (Photo by Mark Wetherbee, Jr.)
Lewis Ferrer thinks about his move as Boris Privman eyes his decision during an Oct. 14, 2013 meeting of the Hamilton Chess club. (Photo by Mark Wetherbee, Jr.)
Charles Miller moves a piece during an Oct. 14, 2013 meeting of the Hamilton Chess club. (Photo by Mark Wetherbee, Jr.)
Hamilton Chess Club members compete in Garden State Chess League
Sitting across from each other, only a few feet apart, two men begin to prepare the tools that will guide them through a “mental fight.”
They place the pieces on the board one by one, with kings, queens, bishops, knights, rooks and pawns all assuming their positions, ready to uphold distinct functions.
There’s no field, no physical confrontation between players. But this game of chess is a fight, combining a multitude of skills in an altercation that members of the Hamilton Chess Club gladly take on every Monday, starting at 7:30 p.m.
“In a sense, chess is a war, a mental fight against someone else,” said Ed Sytnik, who runs the club. “There’s strategy and skill involved, and I love it because you get to watch all these things play out.”
Sytnik said he and his fellow Hamilton members are quick to point out the skill and difficulty that comes with the game.
“Chess is a unique combination of arts, science and sports,” said Boris Privman, the current club champion. “It’s a little of this and a little of that, and unless you’re good at all aspects, you won’t get very far.”
Sytnik said it takes concentration, skill and focus to play with the best.
“You can’t walk in dazed and think you’ll walk away with a World Championship. It doesn’t work that way,” Sytnik said. “The slightest move could lose you the game on Move 10, and then it’s just a slow, agonizing death from there.”
Despite the grim sound of that scenario, these factors aren’t turn-offs. They’re actually the draw that has kept membership up since the club was started in 1982. It’s an organization that consists of many serious players who pride themselves on tackling the mental challenge of the game—a test that they have aced in recent years.
The Hamilton Chess Club has been to Garden State Chess League what the University of Alabama is to college football, its domination stretching over the last few years. The team of Sytnik, Privman, John Chladnicek, Charles Miller and Dragan Milovanovic—a 12-time club champion—has won four straight league titles.
But as grand as those accomplishments might sound, the club finds its true satisfaction in providing a place for all sorts of people to play the game that they love.
“There is no restriction in chess in regards to age, race, gender or even physical handicap,” Sytnik said. “Everyone who plays chess can play no matter what.”
Of the nearly 50 members, most 50 or older. But there is still fresh blood that walks through the doors of the Edward J. McManimon Building, located at 320 Scully Ave., on Mondays.
One of the club’s youngest members is Albert Ming, 9, who has been playing chess since he entered Kindergarten. Ming is a fan of many sports—he also plays baseball—but chess just has a certain allure to him.
“I like how intense it is when you have two people going against each other,” Ming said. “It’s just really fun to play.”
The club’s other prominent youngster is Cedric Lary, a sophomore at Trenton Catholic Academy, who placed in top 10 in the South Jersey Chess League last year.
The participation of younger members like Ming and Lary puts a smile on the face of longtime member—although he refers to himself as a “longtime character”—Scott Sabol, who sees chess as not only a game, but also a teaching tool for life.
“It forces you to focus, think, concentrate and plan ahead, and those are things that are valuable not only in chess but throughout life,” Sabol said. “Figuring out where you’re headed, what you want to do and what you need to do and focusing on that object, it’s universal throughout life.”
All these attributes are what makes it simple to see why there has been a growth in the interest of chess in Mercer County, which expanded further when Hamilton club member Mike Colucci opened another club two years ago in Ewing that meets every Tuesday.
Although Sytnik now jokes that Colucci has become a rival, he is happy to see the game bolstered locally because, after all, his main ambition since the club’s inception has been to provide opportunity for chess players.
“We’re a never-ending journey,” Sytnik said. “We get new people every year, and sometimes we have to say good-bye to old friends who can’t make it anymore, it’s like a rotation, but we always welcome people to come out and play.”
In addition to Monday meetings, the club also holds quads once a month on Saturdays. Yearly fees are $10. For more information, visit the club’s website, sites.google.com/site/hamiltonchessclub/hamilton-chess-club, or call Sytnik at (609) 351-2437.
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