While back alleys and music are not normally associated with chess, they both feature regularly in ACC meet-ups.
This particular one on Nov 20 celebrated the third anniversary of the club, which takes its name from the area where a group of like-minded friends like to get together and relax.
“We were just a bunch of friends who loved to drink teh (tea) and hang out in the Aliwal Street area. Then we realised that most of us played chess,” said 25-year-old club founder Hirfan Romzi (bottom, right).
In 2021, the six or seven friends, all in their early 20s, started taking their chess boards to their hangout spots in Sultan Gate a couple of times a month, attracting curious passers-by.
“They would always be intrigued,” said Mr Hirfan.
Some of them would play a game or two with the group, he said. “I thought, why not make it into a regular thing?”
“Initially, it was just a gathering of strangers, and chess was just the medium for people to get to know one another,” added Mr Hirfan, a projects lead at a creative events agency.
What started out by accident evolved into something more carefully planned – ACC came up with a logo and started its own page on Instagram that year.
Their motto, “Drink teh, then we play”, reflects the club’s casual, laid-back vibe.
There are many local chess clubs, but they mainly focused on training for tournaments.
When ACC started out, the main aim was to make chess fun and accessible to everyone.
Most of the club’s events are free, and held in areas where passers-by can stop and watch, and even join in for an impromptu game.
Mr Sebastian Ramos Currah (above, right) had always been a little intimidated by other chess clubs as some of them required members to have a minimum chess rating, which is a measure of a player’s proficiency in the game.
“ACC has an all-are-welcome philosophy and I wanted to be part of that,” said the 33-year-old social work associate who turned to chess as a new hobby about three years ago after he stopped playing rugby because of an injury.
“I was over 30 and, as an adult learner, I felt I would be too slow, but I kept at it, and because of their encouragement, I have even gone for tournaments,” he added.
The club tries to organise meet-ups twice a month, letting people know when and where through its Instagram page. ACC also has a presence on TikTok.
“Most of the people who join our chess meets play online, but cannot find people in real life to play and chill, and that’s where ACC comes in,” said Mr Hirfan.
Ms Farhana Ayu Husin took her two children to one of ACC’s chess meets in June 2023.
“Both my sons are in their school chess club, and I thought bringing them down would do them some good to interact with adults,” she said. This was the first of many games her boys, now aged nine and 13, played with ACC.
“I always encourage them to take their chess board to the kopitiam to play with uncles there,” said Ms Farhana.
The boys proceeded to play several games which stretched well past the evening that day. As it turned dark, attendees whipped out their cellphones, using the in-built flashlights to illuminate the chessboards.
Her elder son, Aydin Qusyairi (bottom right), held up a torch as he challenged another player much older than him.
“One of my favourite memories was of this guy who came in slippers and shorts, and the next person who walked in was a guy in a suit,” recalled Mr Hirfan, who believes chess is a game for everyone.
p:“It’s really nice to see a diverse age range, and also people from all walks of life and races come together,” said Mr Hirfan.
Ms Ang Shiqi (below, left), 40, took her nine-year-old son, Reagan Ang (below, right), for an ACC Halloween-themed chess party at Pearl’s Hill Terrace on Oct 26, 2024.
She liked that the chess played at ACC is not rigid.
“Sometimes they don’t even go by the rules, so it’s really entry level, and he’s learning (more of the game) as he plays with strangers,” she said of Reagan.
“I felt that the themed party also added a playful twist to the traditional game, making it more exciting and approachable for everyone, especially the younger crowd,” she added. Reagan won the best-dressed contest that night.
ACC meets are held at various locations across Singapore, and take different themes.
There are late-night neon chess meets (below), where players play on neon-illuminated chess boards under UV light; sessions featuring live bands and DJs; and events where a giant chess board, which is very popular with children, is used.
“The reason we have so many different themes is so we can target different audiences,” said Mr Hirfan.
The events, held in busy public spots, have attracted many new chess players, he added.
ACC also integrates interesting ice-breakers into the chess games.
At a Fort Canning Park chess meet, the club introduced a special card game called “We're Not Really Here for Chess”, inspired by the popular We're Not Really Strangers card game.
As players engage in chess battles against their opponents, every time any of their pieces gets captured, they draw a card from the deck, each containing a thought-provoking question that they must answer.
“When we first started the club, we never thought of competing to be the best, but now we’re quite clear about our agenda – it is to help people build that bridge between skill levels,” says Mr Hirfan.
“We have had players who joined us from Day One and were complete newbies at chess. But these same players are now competing in actual tournaments.”
At the beginning, ACC was a completely grassroots effort.
Mr Hirfan, who used to be a freelance graphic designer, would create the logos and event posters, and would depend on friends to provide other things like sound systems, food and manpower.
The club started with around 10 chess boards, most of which belonged to Mr Hirfan, and then when the meets became bigger, everyone with boards would chip in.
In late 2022, ACC purchased 30 second-hand boards from the Singapore Chess Federation, which has been a close collaborator.
As the club grew, so did its team and its collaborations with other creatives.
“At first everything was for fun, but after we’ve seen how our events actually positively impact people, we put in place a proper format where we can finally give opportunities to other creatives in the scene. For example, I have friends who are in emerging bands, or who do poetry or caricature, and now we can provide a platform for them,’ says Mr Hirfan.
For example, ACC collaborated with local interior and furniture studio Laiian, to showcase its custom-made chess tables. The tables debuted at an art market at Lasalle College Of The Arts in 2023, and they again featured during the Artbox Singapore event in January 2024 (above).
Visitors got a chance to play chess on these tables, and one table was later given away as part of a social media contest by ACC and Laiian.
ACC also works closely with home-grown cafes to collaborate on events where participants can support the cafe with a minimum spend and get to enjoy the game in comfort.
“We work together on events where visitors can also support the people we work with. I want to gather all these people in the creative scene so that we can grow together,” he adds.
The club’s events now see an average of 100 people, quite a feat considering its first official event had only 15 attendees.
To date, one of ACC’s biggest collaborations has been its 2024 tie-up with the World Chess Championship, which is taking place for the first time in Singapore from Nov 25 to Dec 13.
Titled Rook and Roll, ACC worked together with experimental visual production studio Atom Power Studio and the Singapore Chess Federation to hold a series of free public events spanning two weekends to celebrate chess as both a cultural phenomenon and a tool for community building.
Mr Hirfan dreams of a day when ACC can have a physical headquarters, but for now, there are exciting projects ahead.
One event slated for 2025 is chess boxing: Two opponents will play alternating rounds of blitz chess and boxing until one wins by checkmate or knockout.