Labor Day Chess Tradition

Tournament a Labor Day tradition for chess buffs
By BRIAN J. HOWARD
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: September 4, 2007)

Asked his favorite thing about the game of chess, Noah Helburn could only look to his dad and shrug. But he knew one thing for sure.

“Can you tell what my favorite piece is?” the 6-year-old said. “The queen, because it can move anywhere.”

Jim Helburn of South Salem introduced his son to the game about a year ago. The two turned out at the John Jay Homestead’s annual Labor Day chess tournament for the second straight year. Last year, Noah won three of the five matches he played.

“I always enjoyed playing, and I just thought it was a fantastic game for him to play, to learn how to think ahead and use deductive reasoning,” the elder Helburn said. “It’s all those things, but I think it’s just an enjoyable sport.”

The tournament has been drawing 40 to 50 players of all ages and ability levels to the main barn at Jay’s historic home off Route 22 in Katonah for at least 33 years. Sometime organizer Stanley Kravitz, who was on hand to help out and observe yesterday, said the “low-key” event probably dates back longer than that.

Jay, one of the authors of the Federalist Papers and the nation’s first Supreme Court chief justice, was a chess buff, Kravitz noted, so the setting is fitting. The tournament isn’t rated by the United States Chess Federation, though players abide by USCF rules. As many as half yesterday looked to be under the age of 12.

“Chess has always been considered a mind game, so parents like that,” said Kravitz.

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