Chess Should Be More Than an Event
Six years after writing that chess is a game for life, Discovery Chess founder Rhonda Adorno reflects on what players need after they discover the game: pathways, relationships and a place to belong.
From a game for life to a connected chess life in Richmond
Six years ago to the date, I wrote an article for Richmond Family Magazine called “Chess: Game for Life.”
It was 2020. Families were pulling dusty board games out of closets, spending more time together than anyone had anticipated and trying to navigate a world that required all of us to think several moves ahead.
I wrote about chess as a tool for resilience, creativity, strategic thinking and family connection. I also wrote about the many ways children encounter the game and why chess should be allowed to take shape naturally in their lives.
I ended the article with something I still believe:
Chess is a game. Chess is a sport. Chess is friendship.
After more years of coaching players, organizing tournaments and building Discovery Center at Stony Point™, I have come to understand another part of that idea:
Discovering chess is often easier than discovering where you belong within it.
There Is No Single Doorway Into Chess
People come to know the game in all kinds of ways.
One child may first see chess on Bluey. Another learns from a grandparent. Someone else begins playing through an online app, watches a friend at school or becomes curious after seeing a chessboard in the community.
Discovery Chess League Tournament at Discovery Center at Stony Point
There is no single doorway into chess—and there should not be.
But after that first spark of interest, families often struggle to find a centralized place where a player can discover the game, learn how to grow, play consistently and understand what comes next.
Instead, chess can become a collection of separate opportunities.
A child attends a lesson. Plays at a free community meetup. Enters a tournament. Practices online for a while. Then waits for the next event to appear.
Every one of those experiences can be valuable. Free play makes chess more accessible. Lessons help players develop. Online platforms make it possible to practice almost anywhere. Tournaments give players goals and a chance to test what they have learned.
But after the game ends, one important question often remains:
What comes next?
Over the years, I have watched children finish a tournament, collect their things and leave without really knowing the players they had spent hours competing against. I began wondering what chess could become if those same players had opportunities to practice together, represent teams, talk about their goals and grow alongside one another.
We believe chess should offer that possibility.
From Chess Activities to a Chess Life
Players need more than isolated dates on a calendar. They need opportunities to return, relationships that deepen and a pathway that helps them understand where they are going.
A beginning player should be able to discover the game without feeling intimidated.
A developing player should have consistent coaching, familiar peers and meaningful opportunities to practice.
A competitive player should have more than tournaments. They should have teammates, analysis, preparation and people who understand their goals.
Schools should be able to build chess identities that continue beyond the final club meeting.
Adults, seniors and families should also have places where chess creates conversation, friendship and belonging.
This is the difference between offering chess activities and building a connected chess community.
Tournaments Matter—But They Are Not the Whole Journey
Competition is an important part of chess. It teaches players to
Discovery Center at Stony Point + Henrico County Gifted Program Chess tournament
make decisions under pressure
manage disappointment
recover from mistakes
respect the person sitting across the board.
Discovery Chess supports both rated and unrated competition. We want players who are interested in tournament chess to feel prepared, confident and connected to meaningful opportunities.
But tournaments should be milestones within a player’s journey—not the only moments when that journey feels real.
When chess revolves entirely around the next tournament, players can fall into a repetitive cycle:
Compete. Practice. Compete again.
What is often missing is the space between those moments: the friendships, conversations, team identity, mentoring, shared goals and simple joy of returning to a place where people know your name.
A tournament can tell a player how they performed that day. A community helps them understand that they still belong the next day.
Connection Is Not an Extra
We are living through a period in which people of every age are looking for meaningful ways to connect.
The World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Connection has called attention to the widespread effects of loneliness and social isolation and the need for practical, scalable ways to strengthen human connection.
Chess cannot solve every challenge of disconnection. But it offers something remarkably useful.
Two people can sit across from one another, share a common language and begin interacting without needing to know what to say first. The board provides structure. The game creates focus. Conversation develops naturally around it.
Children can play with adults. Beginners can learn from experienced players. Families can share an activity that does not depend on everyone being the same age. People from different schools, neighborhoods and backgrounds can meet on equal ground.
The chessboard becomes more than a playing surface. It becomes a meeting place.
Adult Chess at the Discovery Center at Stony point
What Connected Chess Looks Like at Discovery
At Discovery Chess, we are building pathways instead of disconnected programs.
A child may begin by exploring the game through Atomic Knights Chess Club. As their interest and skills develop, they may move into consistent instruction through Discovery Chess Academy, join The Rated Room for deeper competitive development or represent their school through the Discovery Chess League.
Girls can find identity and community through Indigo Queens. Families can play together. Adults can return to a game they once loved—or finally learn it for the first time. Seniors can gather around chess and coffee.
Players can enjoy casual games, study seriously, participate in a league, prepare for tournaments or simply find people who are glad to see them return.
Not every player wants the same experience, and not every player needs to follow the same path. Connection does not mean forcing everyone into one model.
It means making sure there is a next step when they are ready.
Building a Connected Chess Community in Richmond
Richmond already has people who teach chess, organize tournaments and create places for casual play. Those efforts matter.
Discovery is not here to erase them.
We are here to expand what chess can hold.
We want Richmond families to experience chess as more than a series of unrelated opportunities they must locate and assemble on their own. We want players to have a physical home, visible pathways and a community that can grow with them.
We want schools to move from having temporary chess clubs to building teams and traditions.
We want children to know the players they compete against—not only as opponents, but as peers.
We want adults and seniors to see themselves as part of Richmond’s chess community too.
We want tournaments, instruction, recreation, technology, family participation and community life to strengthen one another.
Richmond does not need fewer chess events.
It needs a connected chess life between them.
The Next Chapter
In 2020, I wrote that chess could be forever.
Today, I understand that “forever” requires more than teaching someone how the pieces move. Players also need opportunities to grow, relationships that continue and places that welcome them back.
Whether someone first encounters chess through a grandparent, a television show, an app, a friend or a tournament, that moment of discovery should be able to lead somewhere.
There should be a place to begin.
A place to learn.
A place to play.
A place to develop and compete.
And, just as importantly, a place to return.
Chess should be more than somewhere you go. It should be somewhere you belong.
At Discovery Center at Stony Point™, we open space to discover, learn and play.
From Henrico to ImmerseCon: Discovery Center at Stony Point Is Building a New Scholastic Chess Pathway
Discovery Chess, a US Chess-affiliated club in Richmond, is connecting the Henrico scholastic tournament, ImmerseCon 2026, and school league play into one pathway for students.
Discovery Center at Stony Point is Richmond-rooted, US Chess-affiliated, and building a chess ecosystem designed to connect students with school teams, league play, rated competition, technology, and the wider world of chess.
A meaningful chess pathway is not created by one tournament.
It grows when students have a place to learn, opportunities to compete, schools they are proud to represent, and a clear next step after every experience.
Throughout 2026, Discovery Center at Stony Point has been putting those pieces together.
From directing a large Henrico County Public Schools scholastic tournament to presenting rated competition at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, each experience has strengthened a larger vision: a connected scholastic chess ecosystem serving Richmond-area students, families, and schools.
Henrico Showed the Demand
On May 2, Discovery Center at Stony Point directed and led the Henrico County Public Schools Scholastic Chess Tournament with 90 registered players.
Students participated in a four-round Swiss tournament with skill-based groupings, timed games, and no elimination. Some arrived with previous tournament experience. For others, it was their first opportunity to sit across from unfamiliar opponents and experience organized scholastic competition.
The tournament demonstrated something important: students are ready for more chess.
They are ready for structured competition that remains welcoming. They are ready to represent their schools, develop confidence, practice sportsmanship, and test what they have learned against players outside their usual circles.
Families and schools are ready for those opportunities, too.
But a single tournament—even a successful one—cannot provide the consistency players need to grow. Students need instruction before the tournament, meaningful match play during the season, and another opportunity waiting after the final round.
That is where the larger Discovery Center at Stony Point pathway begins.
ImmerseCon Expanded the Stage
Two months later, Discovery Center at Stony Point brought scholastic competition to the Greater Richmond Convention Center through the Discovery Chess Scholastic Open at ImmerseCon 2026.
Held July 11, the event placed chess inside a convention celebrating esports, STEM, tabletop gaming, technology, creativity, and interactive experiences. It gave scholastic players an opportunity to compete in an environment that reflected the expanding world around the game.
The tournament was also publicly listed by US Chess, establishing another important step in Discovery’s competitive development.
As a US Chess-affiliated club, Discovery Center at Stony Point can help connect local players with nationally recognized rated competition. That matters for students who are ready to establish a rating, track their progress, encounter stronger opponents, and participate in the broader American chess community.
But ImmerseCon represented more than a tournament listing.
Chess did not have to stand apart from technology, gaming, creativity, or contemporary culture. It belonged among them.
That is central to the Discovery philosophy. Chess is both an ancient global game and a powerful platform for modern learning. Physical boards, digital analysis, connected chess technology, artificial intelligence, online play, and international competition can all contribute to how today’s players experience and understand the game.Why this matters
Chess teaches patience, accountability, and strategic thinking in a way few activities can. When students compete regularly in a league format, they begin to see chess not as an isolated class, but as a discipline—something they belong to.
The League Turns Events Into a Pathway
Henrico demonstrated the demand.
ImmerseCon expanded the stage.
Now, the Discovery Chess League™ is building the structure that connects those experiences.
The League gives schools an opportunity to create something more substantial than a short-term chess club. Students can learn together on campus, develop as a team, and represent their schools in organized interschool matches that families can attend.
The model includes:
School-based chess instruction
Structured skill development
Team identity and school pride
Interschool League matches
Rated and unrated competition pathways
Tournament preparation and sportsmanship
Opportunities for continued growth at Discovery Center at Stony Point™
Not every child begins chess ready for rated competition—and they should not have to.
Some players need an encouraging first tournament without rating pressure. Others are ready to use clocks, record notation, analyze games, and pursue measurable competitive growth.
A strong chess ecosystem must make room for both.
Discovery Chess League is designed to help students enter at the right level and continue moving forward. A beginner can learn the game, join a school team, participate in a supportive League match, and eventually progress toward US Chess-rated competition.
That progression turns isolated events into lasting development.
Richmond-Rooted. Nationally Connected. Globally Minded.
Discovery Center at Stony Point is deeply rooted in Richmond, but our vision does not stop at a city, county, or state boundary.
Chess is a global language.
A child learning at a school in Henrico, Chesterfield, or Richmond is studying the same game played in classrooms, clubs, public parks, online communities, and international competitions around the world.
We want students to understand that they are part of that larger tradition.
Being globally minded means exposing players to different styles of play, accomplished chess professionals, international games, digital learning environments, and technology that allows geography to become less of a barrier.
It also means preparing students for a future in which strategic thinking, pattern recognition, disciplined decision-making, adaptability, and human connection will matter far beyond the chessboard.
Our goal is not simply to produce more tournaments.
It is to build an ecosystem where students can discover chess, learn with skilled coaches, play consistently, represent their schools, experience meaningful competition, and imagine how far the game might take them.
We Are Building What Comes Next
Discovery Center at Stony Point has grown from mobile instruction into a dedicated Chess + STEAM center, a US Chess-affiliated club, a tournament organizer, a school partner, and the home of a developing interschool league.
The Henrico tournament was one step.
The Discovery Chess Scholastic Open at ImmerseCon was another.
The League is what connects those moments and carries the work forward.
We are building a chess culture that is welcoming enough for a student’s first game, structured enough for serious development, and ambitious enough to reach beyond Richmond.
And we are still at the beginning.
Schools, PTAs, homeschool organizations, families, and community partners interested in joining the next Discovery Chess League season can learn more at Discovery Chess League or contact info@discoverychess.com.
Discovery Center at Stony Point™
We open space to discover, learn, play.
The First Discovery Chess League Tournament
Our first monthly Discovery Chess League Tournament wasn’t just about determining a winner—it was about stepping into something bigger. For many students, it was their first time competing against players from other schools, managing nerves between rounds, and learning how to recover after a tough position.
What unfolded wasn’t just competition. It was confidence forming in real time.
Last week, we hosted the very first monthly Discovery Chess League Tournament, and the energy in the room said everything we hoped it would. This wasn’t just a competition—it was a milestone.
Students from different schools arrived with backpacks, boards, and a mix of excitement and nerves. For many, it was their first time sitting across from a new opponent, shaking hands, and learning what it feels like to compete in a scholastic setting that values growth as much as results.
A tournament designed for learning
From the start, the goal of the Discovery Chess League has been clear: create a league that mirrors youth sports in structure while honoring the unique culture of chess. That means:
Skill-based brackets so players face appropriate challenges
Clear expectations around sportsmanship and respect
A calm, focused environment where students can think, adjust, and try again
This tournament was unrated by design. The emphasis was on experience: managing time, recovering from a tough loss, celebrating a well-earned win, and learning how to stay composed across multiple rounds.
What we saw on the boards
Over the course of the afternoon, we watched players:
Apply opening principles they’ve practiced for weeks
Navigate endgames under pressure
Learn to lose gracefully—and win humbly
Build confidence with every round they completed
For some students, simply finishing all rounds was the victory. For others, earning a medal or certificate marked a meaningful step in their chess journey. Every participant left having learned something about the game—and about themselves.
Why this matters
Chess teaches patience, accountability, and strategic thinking in a way few activities can. When students compete regularly in a league format, they begin to see chess not as an isolated class, but as a discipline—something they belong to.
This first tournament affirmed what we believe deeply at the Discovery Center:
When kids are given a structured, supportive space to compete, they rise to the occasion.
What’s next
Monthly Discovery Chess League tournaments are now officially underway. Each event will continue to strengthen school pride, individual growth, and our larger chess community across Richmond.
To our players: we’re proud of you.
To our families and school partners: thank you for trusting us with your students.
To the chess community: this is just the beginning.
The Kaleidoscopic Benefits of CHESS & STEAM
The kaleidoscopic benefits of Chess and STEAM are vast and multi-dimensional, offering an array of skills that enrich the mind and fuel creativity.
