Dugg Smith of Dover is originally from Columbus, Ohio, and his lifelong love of chess began with a simple challenge from a friend. After losing a match, Smith was determined to learn more about the game and improve his skills. He checked out a book from the library and began studying the strategies, moves and patterns that make chess both challenging and rewarding.
“This was in the late 60s, and I was 10 years old,” Smith said.
His interest grew even stronger in 1972 when American chess legend Bobby Fischer played Boris Spassky for the world title in Iceland. Smith and his buddy would get the newspaper each morning and review the results of the match together.
“Fischer lost the first game, forfeited the second game but completely outplayed Spassky the rest of the way to become the first American world champ,” Smith said.
By then, Smith was playing on his junior high team.
“I continued playing through high school in league competitions,” Smith said. “I was the chess club president as a senior. I played in rated tournaments all through junior and senior high school.”
Smith started the Bloomingdale Chess Club in 2025, and it’s registered with U.S Chess Association.
“We have been in existence for over a year now,” Smith said. “We have a mix of older players and players as young as 5 years old that are just starting to learn the great game of chess. We don’t charge to play or to participate in tournaments. We had our first tournament last month. We have players that are rated as high as 1,900 in the US Chess rating system, and many of our players participate in local US Chess-sanctioned tournaments.”
Smith believes chess is a great tool for children to develop life skills, such as critical thinking, planning, strategy, time management, memory development and problem-solving skills.
“Chess helps children in reading and mathematics as well,” Smith said. “The social aspect of chess is really great. When a child makes a great move, his face lights up. Chess is fantastic in building self-esteem in children. I’m a very competitive person, so chess allows me to compete and also has the added benefit of keeping my mind sharp as I age.”
The Bloomingdale Chess Club meets at the Bloomingdale Regional Public Library, located at 1906 Bloomingdale Ave. in Valrico, on Wednesday night from 6-8:45 p.m. every week.
“We don’t have memberships per se, just an email list,” Smith said. “I send out one email a week to apprise everyone of what is happening that week. We started off with sparse numbers attending, but as word of mouth grew, we have had nights with over 20 players.”
If you would like to learn more about the Bloomingdale Chess Club or join the club, you can visit the club’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bloomingdale.chess.club.
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