Conversations with Seth Dousman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Seth Dousman.

Hi Seth, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Seth. I grew up in Champaign, Illinois. I’ve lived in Atlanta about 18 years, and I’m the founder of the Atlanta Checkmate Club. It’s Atlanta’s biggest social chess club. I fell in love with the game a couple years ago. Back in 2020 when The Queen’s Gambit came out, I got reintroduced to the game, and I just couldn’t stop playing. I couldn’t get enough of it. I was bringing my board to bars, making my friends play me, playing on my phone all the time, and like I was just obsessed.
Eventually ended up starting a chess night at a barbershop back in 2021. The first chess night I had was January 12th, 2021, and it was literally me and three other homies playing chess at a barbershop. It turned into this amazing, beautiful vibrant community with hundreds of people throughout the week from all walks of life. Fast forward from 2021 and now I have a rook tattooed on my face, haha it’s the coolest chess community in the city of Atlanta. I’m really proud of it.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Things have been relatively smooth, a slow and steady growth; things have happened naturally. In 2026 more venues and people have been contacting us to do more events, so that’s been a pleasant surprise.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m very tapped into the social scene in Atlanta from being a bartender at a popular location in town. It lends itself to the fact that our chess club is a social club.

What are your plans for the future?
Continue to grow the game of chess and make it fun and accessible to everyone, eventually we’d like to do this all over the country.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.atlantacheckmateclub.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/atlantacheckmateclub
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550123022115
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atlantacheckmateclub