Chess playing kids learn all the right moves
By Georgia Sparling | Jun 19, 2013
Mattapoisett — Leaning in, brows furrowed in concentration, mental wheels spinning, the kids of the Mattapoisett chess club are a strategic bunch.
Composed primarily of third and fourth graders, the group started a few months ago at the Mattapoisett library.
Lee Estes, 17 and his brother Adam, 15, help facilitate the group.
“You don’t have to be a certain personality type to be good at chess,” said Lee, a junior at Bishop Stang High School. “You do have to be relatively disciplined, but you also just need to know the game.”
Every Wednesday night, one of the Estes brothers sets up a row of chessboards and waits for the kids to filter in.
On this particular evening, kids fill up every space at the table. Without much preamble (but with a little bit of trash talk), the kids begin carefully moving pieces around the board.
Carissa Bailey, a third grader at Center School, is new to the game, and said a friend originally invited her to the group.
“I like how there are a lot of different techniques you can use to win the game,” she said.
Strategy is something that Lee focuses on when helping the kids learn the game, which he and his brother started playing as children.
“I just sit in and make sure people know the basic rudiments of the game, and help them understand the strategies they can do,” said Lee. “I really do let them play their own games.”
The group is a safe place for kids to learn the art of chess, and new players are always welcome.
To help the kids develop more nuanced strategies, they switch partners after every game. Each pairing gives the opponents something new to learn.
“It’s interesting because it’s not just a game of strategy,” said Lee. “It’s a game of people.”
Nine-year-old Michaen Scully, of Fairhaven, has been playing the game for more than two years.
“I just think it’s fun,” said Michaen.
The chess players meet in the children’s wing of the Mattapoisett Library every Wednesday, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Call the library at 508-758-4171 for more information.
Source: http://sippican.villagesoup.com
Fantastic.