Elite Chess in Naperville offered a chess and fishing camp this summer, where kids spent their time thinking on the chessboard and fishing in the pond.
Elite Chess offers its first-ever Chess and Fishing camp at Wildflower Park in Naperville
“Today we’re at Wildflower Park in Naperville, where we are doing the first-ever chess and fishing camp that we’ve run, maybe the first-ever chess and fishing camp that anyone’s run, I’m not sure,” said Elite Chess Owner, Jeff DiOrio
It’s the first time that Elite Chess has offered this camp. It marks a unique collaboration that combines outdoor activity with a classic board game.
“We’ve been running chess combo camps for about eight years now,” DiOrio added. “We specialize in chess, but then we kind of use our interests, the kids’ interests, and the community’s trust in what we’ve delivered over the last ten years. We then combine those chess camps with other activities.”
Other camps offered by Elite Chess and how they help kids develop new skills
The company’s approach to selecting different camps reflects a flexible and innovative style that adapts to the kids’ evolving interests and the community’s needs.
“Our summer camp offerings are pretty large, and we do a lot of really unique things…. “Like this summer, we did chess and archery, chess and robotics, chess and ping pong, chess and soccer. We kind of do all these things, and kids are really soaking it up, so we’re gonna keep offering it.”
Other camps like chess and art, and chess and laser tag have also been offered.
“I go fishing a lot in the summer, and I want to improve my casts and catch some big fish,” said camper, Kavin Peter. “My favorite part is the chess tournaments, which are very interesting because there are around five games and you’re just playing against people around your level.”
For many of these campers, the camp offers an opportunity to develop new skills in chess and fishing. They also get to make new friends with similar interests.
“Most of the kids come to us with chess experience, because that’s kind of what Elite chess does, we run chess programs and classes for kids,” said DiOrio. “A lot of these kids, though, haven’t fished before, so this is a unique experience for them.”
Giving kids a chance to accomplish new challenges
Introducing fishing to chess enthusiasts offers a new challenge and a refreshing break from their usual routine.
“I joined the camp because I love chess, and I really love fishing,” added camper, Zayn Little.
“The reason why I wanted to join was because I wanted to practice chess more, and the reason why I like it is because when you go fishing, you focus on a different fish,” said camper Drew Mullen. “For chess, you can do tournaments, and then when you’re done, you can just go play at the park.”
Campers are discovering how the activities complement each other, offering both competitive and leisure opportunities.
“When I first heard about it, I had never heard of a fishing and chess camp, cause one is a sport and one is more of a STEM,” said camper, Matthew Curry. “I joined because I love chess and I love fishing, so it’s the best of both worlds.”
Progressively building new skills keeps the camp dynamic and engaging for the participants.
Finding success on day one and offering more camps in 2026
“The kids so far have had a lot of fun,” said DiOrio. “I think we caught about 40 or 50 bluegills on day one, so that was great. Everybody was excited. And then every single day, we are adding a new technique and a new fishing skill. As well as chess skills.”
“I joined this camp because my parents said that I would like to do the fishing and chess camp,” said camper Jordan Reed. “I also joined because I wanted to get, like, bigger fish and get better at playing chess. My favorite part about this is fishing, because you can catch really big fish, like we’ve seen a ton of big fish.”
Elite Chess camps were sold out throughout the summer, and the company is ready to offer the camp again, along with the other chess-combo camps in 2026.
“The fact that we sold out immediately without ever really running it before tells me that there’s an interest, so we will do this again,” added DiOrio. “We probably will offer this camp multiple weeks.”
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