Reality checks

Kaylen Martin intently focused on the chess pieces, contemplating her next move.

"You have to be quiet and you have to concentrate," she explained.

The sixth-grader at Cape Girardeau Central Middle School isn't alone. More than 50 fifth- and sixth-graders stay after school to play chess for about an hour each Wednesday, starting in October and ending in late February.

Sitting across the cafeteria table from Kaylen, fifth-grader Bryce Greer studiously considered his next move. "I think it is really challenging and fun," he said. "Sometimes it can be really hard."

Volunteer Jonathan Budil records the wins on his laptop computer using software that keeps track of the points earned by students.

Jesse Macias, 11, stopped his timer after completing a move at Central Middle School.

Budil, a member of a local club of chess players in Cape Girardeau, has helped out with the middle school's chess program for the past three years.

"I love chess. It is something I could share," he said.

Chess, he said, encourages students to be more analytical and use logic. Every move in the game has a consequence. "It gives them the ability to think more clearly," Budil said.

The students get some pointers from Budil and other volunteers, but they also learn from each other, said school librarian Vickie Howard, who helps direct the program with middle-school teacher Mary Ellen Malone. "The more they play, the better they get."

However, the effects of the program go beyond logical thinking. "Some of the kids end up being best friends," Howard said.

Malone said the students learn proper chess manners, such as playing chess quietly and not shouting out when they win. "We really teach them it is a classy game," she said.

For the most part, the room is quiet except for the click of timers. Students press buttons on clocks beside their chessboards after each move. The goal is for each student to complete all of his or her moves in a game in 10 minutes. At that rate, a game can be finished in 20 minutes.

Better than video games

In contrast, the game of chess is about 1,500 years old, according to Budil.

But it's aged well. Many of the middle school students said they like chess more than video games. Some said it's more challenging. Others said they liked moving the chess pieces as opposed to sitting in front of a computer screen.

Budil isn't surprised by such comments. "I think we don't give kids enough credit," he said.

Howard started the after-school chess program when the middle school opened five years ago. She said she had about 75 students in the program the first year but discovered managing that many students at once was hard. Since then, she's tried to limit the number each year to about 50. This year, 54 students are in the program.

Students pay $5 each to participate. The money helps cover the cost of vinyl chess boards, plastic chess pieces and time clocks.

Howard admits she isn't a great chess player. But because she runs the program, many of the students view her as a master of chess.

"Kids brag about beating me," she said with a smile.

Budil said the months of playing chess help to classify the students as novice, intermediate or advanced players depending on the number of points they accumulate.

The program concludes each year with a tournament. First-place trophies are awarded in each of the three categories. The top four players in the advanced category also compete in a round-robin tournament to determine the school champion.

Fifth-grader Derek Nunnery said he learned chess from his father. As other students turned in their chess boards and chess pieces and headed home with their parents around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nunnery and another student continued playing chess.

"I just like to play," Nunnery said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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