As the school year goes on, many hobbies and activities become immensely popular in what seems like a day. One of those trends that has been seen to be popularized recently at King’s Way students is chess. The relaxed and slow-paced game that many seem to think takes too much brain power has become a little activity that students have been enjoying during the breaks in between classes. It may seem like a mystery as to why the game has been popularized recently, but there are some key reasons why it has become such a well-liked activity recently. Some of the reasons include the preference of why people think it is fun, the people who shared the game with other students, and when it started. 

Hunter Baron, a junior at King’s Way, says that “the most fun thing about chess is its competitive nature and the strategy it brings.” While most video games involve you aimlessly shooting at other people with a gun, chess causes you to think about what you should do and what you could do better at all times. It is also a fun and relaxed way to be able to compete with your friends. Lance Colvin, also a junior, enjoys that “it teaches you fundamental skills that you can apply in your life.” By this he means predicting your opponents moves, and something such as slowing down to think about the consequences of your actions if you do something you shouldn’t. It is just the small things about the game that make people enjoy it. Lance also stated how his friend Kadyn Butcher, a former King’s Way student, “is experiencing a chess popularity epidemic at his school” for what seems like the same reasons that King’s Way is experiencing its popularity. 

The reason so many people are playing chess seems to be because their friends just told them about it. Just the fact that your peers are enjoying the game can totally influence why you play the game. Lance Colvin seems to think that all the popularity came from him and another student, Parker Moss, played it. Because other people saw them playing it he says they decided to join in. All the new people playing caused even more people to want to get better, which popularized it quickly. 

Regardless of the reason for the spike in popularity of chess, the snowball effect caused chess to take over our campus and introduced a whole new generation to the ancient game.