Why These Infantry Marines Have a New Obsession with Chess U.S. Marine Pvt. Alec Sapp plays a game of chess with another Marine in between training classes as part of the eighth week of the Infantry Marine Course on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, March 17, 2021. (U.S Marine Corps/Lance Cpl. Drake Nickel) 4 May 2021 CAMP PENDLETON -- It's kind of like Fight Club. Except it's mental, not physical, and Marines can't stop talking about it. In the recently concluded first pilot of the new 14-week Infantry Marine Course, junior grunts and their instructors blew off steam and passed downtime with game after game of chess. For Marines, famous for staving off boredom in sillier and more reckless ways, hours spent playing the timeless game of mental strategy represents a bit of a departure.