Arthur Fink
Douglas Shields
Arthur Fink has been a member of the Sun Lakes Chess Club for over 20 years, which makes him our longest-standing club member.
He was born in Detroit and lived and worked in Michigan until his retirement when he moved out West to get away from the cold winters. He ended up settling in Sun Lakes with his wife of 59 years, Judy, in December of 2004. A chess club would soon be established around 2005, and Arthur became a regular attendee.
The club originally met at Oakwood. Arthur was told he couldn’t come to the club unless he made it official, so he became a full member. It didn’t take long for Arthur to go from being a club member to the club president. The club moved around a bit over the next few years and finally ended up at Renaissance. The club met there regularly until, sadly, the founding member, Jim Foley, passed away. With Rick having been the only resident in Renaissance, they were again forced to find a different place to meet. Luckily, one of the other club members was able to find the room that they now use for meetings at Cottonwood Country Club, and it has been a permanent Saturday meeting place ever since.
Arthur became enamored with chess at the tender age of nine. Because he didn’t have many friends interested in chess, he took the time to teach his five-year-old sister to play, and she, too, became a highly skilled player as a result.
As an adult, Arthur worked in retail, selling medium and high-end photography equipment in the Detroit area. When the company owner retired, Arthur and four other coworkers bought the company and he became full partner instead of just an employee. At his busiest, Arthur oversaw five store locations, including their flagship location in Dearborn, Mich.
During his prime working years, Arthur didn’t find much opportunity to play chess because of the long hours and travel involved in his work. Once he retired, however, he decided to return to the game that he loved as a child.
I asked Arthur what he found to be the key benefits to playing chess. He told me that while he enjoyed playing, he soon realized that many of the members of the Sun Lakes Chess Club were, according to him, much more skilled. Occasionally, though, Arthur would win a game. The excitement of playing as well as the challenge and mental stimulation kept him coming back. He also credits chess with many of the friendships he now enjoys. In addition to chess, Arthur volunteers at a local elementary school every Thursday, teaching second graders how to read more effectively.
Arthur also goes out to lunch every week with a group of friends. He calls it the ROMHL Club. He said it stands for Retired Old Men Having Lunch.
He also enjoys playing Mexican Train, a game played with dominoes, every Friday night at Cottonwood Country Club.
Arthur is now 87 years young and continues to be a regular Saturday fixture at the Sun Lakes Chess Club. I can attest that you can pretty much set your watch by him. On any given Saturday morning, you’ll see Arthur at the board plotting his next victory!
Arthur, thank you for all your years of support and contribution to the Sun Lakes Chess Club. We especially appreciate your friendship, as we are all richer to know you.