There are only seven or eight chess masters in Wisconsin. Mike Wierzbicki, associate professor and chair of the psychology department, is one of them.

Wierzbicki advises Marquette's Chess Club, which held its first chess "simul" Saturday. A simul involves a chess master playing as many opponents as possible at the same time.

On Saturday, Wierzbicki played five opponents simultaneously beginning at 1 p.m. in Marquette Place in the Alumni Memorial Union. Each opponent set up a chessboard and Wierzbicki walked around the tables, playing a move on each board as he went. Wierzbicki asked opponents to make their moves only once he approached the board to increase efficiency.

Chess Club President Joe Hall-Reppen, a senior in the College of Communication, organized the event, which was Marquette's first chess tournament.

Hall-Reppen said the Chess Club meets Tuesdays at 7 p.m. and Thursdays at 5 p.m. in Lalumiere Hall and plays until all games are completed. There are six to seven regular members.

The club was restarted five years ago after several years of dormancy, so the Chess Club is still developing, Hall-Reppen said. The group hopes to travel eventually, but this year is mostly practicing, he said.

"This is the first time we've really done anything more than just have practices," Hall-Reppen said.

He said the club always welcomes new members, even if they have no experience. The current members can teach beginners the basics and help them improve.

At meetings, the club learns moves from a chess book, but mostly from playing against each other, Hall-Reppen said.

"(Wierzbicki) beats every one of the members pretty much every time we play him," Hall-Reppen said.

Hall-Reppen said players achieve a numerical rating to move up levels in the United States Chess Federation. Players gain points by defeating established members. He said the ultimate goal is being "grand master," which requires 2,400 points. The highest rating of a Chess Club member is 1,800. Wierzbicki's is 2,315.

After defeating an opponent Saturday, Wierzbicki began a new game with the opponent while continuing his current games. He defeated all five opponents.

John Zimmerman, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, said he writes his moves down so he can learn from them later on.

"It's impossible to know everything about (chess)," Zimmerman said.

Matthew Darnall, a freshman in the College of Business Administration, said he just began playing competitively this year, and is still learning about common openings from more experienced members.

Wierzbicki said chess is a great game because players can always learn and improve.

"The way to improve is to play regularly and against people who are stronger than you," Wierzbicki said.