Photo by Kaiden Wynne

Aland Ung, 10, plays chess on Sept. 10. Chess club and gaming club merged this year to create a larger environment.

Tuesday. After school. T-219. Aland Ung, 10, moves pawns and kings around a checkered board, remembering the afternoons he spent with his grandfather before he passed. Chess and game club merged this year, offering a variety of strategy-based board games for students to enjoy with their friends.

“I’ve always really enjoyed playing chess since I was a child,” Aland Ung, 10, said. “My grandfather really got me into it, and I’ve continued playing it ever since he passed.”

Ung’s grandfather taught him how to play chess when they lived 3 minutes from each other in Houston.

“We visited each other a lot, even when we moved away we visited on the holidays,” Ung said. “I remember the first time we played. I found an old, glass set just lying around, it was really nice, and I asked him to play. I was in third grade so I just wanted to learn and I got it pretty quickly, so we played a lot and then it turned into an every weekend thing.”

Ung moved away 4 years ago in the sixth grade and his grandfather passed away a year later.

“It’s really difficult. I mean I think about him every time I play, but it’s been a way to honor him,” Ung said, “and remember everything that I used to do with him.”

Chess club is an outlet for Ung from the stress of school and family.

“It’s more of a fun club for me,” Ung said. “It’s not that big of a commitment. It’s not serious, and it’s super casual. You get to meet a lot of new people and just play a game. It’s in my top three of all the clubs I’m in.”

For Dinh Luong, 11, chess and game club is just a normal afternoon with his friends.

“I just joined because I was kind of bored,” Luong said. “I had been playing chess for a long time and just thought of joining the chess club.”

Luong appreciates the relaxed atmosphere in Mr. Davis’ room after school along with the people who join him.

“We’ve just been playing with each other, you know. It’s not like serious tournaments or anything formal about it, you just go in and play,” Luong said. “It would be cool if they were, but there’s not enough people right now and it would be a lot to organize.”

Ung wants chess and game club to grow and for more people to learn the game his grandfather taught him.

“Everyone should just go for it, like what’s stopping you?” Ung said. “It’s a really good place to start for beginners, and you get to meet new people and new groups that share an interest and you get to continue growing on your journey.”