Patch Facts

Five Things to Know on Nov. 19: Chess Games for Kids

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Monday, Nov. 19. Here are five things you need to know in Hamilton and Wenham: 1. Perfect: The streak of beautiful days continues on Monday, with the forecast calling for sunny skies and the high temperature getting close to 50 degrees. 2. Recipes: We’ll be bringing you some of the best Thanksgiving Day recipes from Patch readers here on the North Shore in the next few days. Monday is the last chance to submit your best recipe to share. Send it to Associate Regional Editor Chris Helms at chrish@patch.com. 3. Chess: Playing chess makes you smart – or so they say. If you want to introduce your kids to chess, or they want to get better, they can join Chess for Kids, which starts a three week long program on Monday at Hamilton-Wenham …

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VIDEO: Chess Master Challenge Pits 15 vs. 1

Chess master Lou Mercuri played simultaneous chess against more than a dozen challengers during a recent event at the Hamilton-Wenham Library.

Inside the quiet confines of the Hamilton-Wenham Library, there was a war of the minds raging recently as Senior Master Lou Mercuri played simultaneous chess matches with 15 local residents. Organized as a special event through the library, participants of all ages paid $5 to challenge Mercuri, a Massachusetts Chess Association instructor. Librarian Rebecca Shea, an active supporter of chess, said she had worked previously with Mercuri at another library and wanted to bring him to Hamilton and Wenham. A grant from the Massachusetts Chess Association paid for the chess sets. "[Mercuri] is just so approachable and he was all about the scholarship aspect of chess," Shea said. Sandra Stolle of Wenham teaches chess classes at the local library …

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