SWAMPSCOTT — A new chess club is coming to town, led by a longtime player and organizer who says the goal is simple: to create a welcoming place where anyone from complete beginners to seasoned competitors can sit down, learn the game, and keep coming back.
Barry Cushner, who has lived in Swampscott since 1979, talks about chess less like a hobby and more like a lifelong language. He’s spent decades running clubs, organizing tournaments, and teaching players across the North Shore. Now, in retirement, he’s looking to build something local.
“I’ve run chess clubs for many, many years,” Cushner said, tracing his experience from Revere and Winthrop to Lynn and Saugus. His longest effort, the Square One Mall Chess Club in Saugus, lasted about 12 years, and he said it became the most successful of the groups he organized (so far).
“We had tournaments, we had ratings,” he said. “I kept the ratings and ran the tournaments, and I also played.”
That chess club, like the one Cushner envisions for Swampscott, offered an environment that was both instructive and competitive, giving competitive opportunities for players to improve.
Cushner’s depth of experience is part of what’s shaping the new effort, along with a genuine interest in passing on a love of the game to new players and future generations.
While some details are still in the works, Cushner says the plan is to offer the club as an affordable opportunity to all. He has already committed himself as the project’s first volunteer.
“I’m retired, and I don’t need the money,” he said. “I’m only doing it now to give back what’s been given to me since I was a teenager.”
While Cushner has been thinking about and starting chess clubs for most of his adult life, this latest endeavor stems from a recent small tournament at the Swampscott Public Library, where a mix of adults and children showed up, played for a few hours, and, most importantly, left wanting to do it again.
Since the tournament, Cushner said he’s heard from others in the community who are interested in joining, and he expects the group to grow once it finds a regular home. He’s also been in touch with potential collaborators, including another local chess teacher who could help run the program.
Cushner sees the club as a place that blends casual play with instruction, a place where new players can learn the fundamentals while more experienced ones sharpen their skills. And while he was careful not to promise specifics until plans are finalized, he was clear on who the club is for.
“Adults, children — all ages. Everybody,” he said, adding that he hopes to include lessons as part of the mix and that accessibility will be a priority.
If there’s one group he’s especially eager to work with, it’s younger players, drawing on decades of experience teaching the game.
“I’ve spent a lot of time over the years teaching kids the game,” Cushner said. He shared a story of a student he coached decades ago who went on to win back-to-back state scholastic championships.
“He was like a sponge, absorbing information,” he said. “It was amazing to watch him.”
That experience was evident again at the recent library tournament, where a 10-year-old player stood out to him, particularly in a game they played against each other.
“I have to tell you, I won the game, but she was very sneaky,” he said. “The way she played — it’s with a conviction you just don’t see with 10-year-olds … you can tell when someone has that kind of instinct.”
For Cushner, those moments are part of what keeps him coming back to the game. He speaks with enthusiasm about teaching and sharing what he loves — but his passion for the game of chess is at the heart of it all.
“To me, it’s the purest form of competition known to mankind, because there’s no luck involved in it,” he said. “It’s a mind game … and you can go as far as you want with it.”
Having started many chess clubs, Cushner says he’s approaching this with an “if you build it, they will come” mindset. While he envisions tournaments, rankings, instruction, and maybe even the next Swampscott protege, he’s starting now with a small core. And if it works the way Cushner hopes, it won’t be small for long.
“Once you have a core, you go from there,” he said.
Anyone interested in becoming an inaugural member of the Swampscott Chess Club can contact Barry Cushner at [email protected].
