msp visit
Mrs Karen Gillon, MSP for Clydesdale visited Lanark Chess Club at Cargill House this week to see the various activities of the club.
Upstairs, a Lanarkshire League match between Lanark 'B' and Hamilton 'F' was in progress. Here the usual quiet atmosphere with players deep in thought, prevailed. Downstairs in the junior section it was rather different. Here it was much more informal with the usual amount of bustle and noise, but the young players were enjoying their chess every bit as much as the seniors.
The benefits to young people of playing chess - broadly speaking, increased academic performance and improved social skills - and the chess club's efforts to encourage more schools in Clydesdale to organise school or after school chess clubs were discussed with Mrs Gillon.
The MSP, who learned to play chess at school but had not played for some years, played a game against Andrew Stokes, one of the club's juniors, which, with a little help from another young club member Andrew Murray, she won.
Club president Ian McLachlan thanked Mrs Gillon for visiting the club.
MSP Karen Gillon gets some advice from Andrew Murray during her game against Andrew Stokes.