Eddie Atacador, a local Knoxian, created the Knox Community Chess Enthusiasts from just a simple chess game between friends. Since then, the social group provides an opportunity for those who enjoy a challenging game to play in a friendly atmosphere.
Participants range in age from 10 to 80 years, and come from a cross section of cultural language groups, so in addition to English it's not unusual to hear conversations in Hungarian, Croatian, Tagalog/Filipino, Spanish, Chinese, German and Italian.
With the group run by volunteers, and no membership fees, funding through a Council grant helped the club to buy more equipment and run regular sessions at many sites.
Eddie is also a strong advocate for Council initiatives that support older adults in our community including the Knox Active Ageing Advisory Committee, Bright Ideas Network, Knox Over 55s Zest for Life, and the Knox Seniors Festival.
He also cites his selection as a participant in a council art and short film exhibition "Voices of Over 55s: Challenging ageist stereotypes" as a favourite memory of this group, showcasing the group and participants and their important contribution to the community.
New chess sessions will be back again soon. Interested? Learn more about Knox Community Chess Enthusiasts by visiting their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/knoxcommunitychessenthusiasts/
