A young SC Chess Champ

A chess champ — a very young chess champ
Published Sun, May 18, 2008 5:29 PM
By JONATHAN CRIBB

I started to panic when, on his second turn, Kevin Rogers moved his knight to C4. He moved the piece with a speed and certainty that — whether he knew it or not — telegraphed a clear message.

play this game fast. I make quick decisions. I make these decisions quickly because I made them two moves ago while you were sitting across the table fumbling with your pawn like the tubby imbecile you clearly are.

Early in the game, I remember staring at Kevin’s gold trophies near the chess board, reading the “1ST PLACE KINDERGARTEN” label on one of them and feeling vaguely nauseous. I was still focused on my pawns, and Kevin was hopscotching knights and bishops across the board like he was H. Norman Schwarzkopf.

Just two minutes in, he grabbed his queen and carried it halfway across the board to A4, just a few spaces away from my king.

“Check,” he said.

I prepared myself to lose to Kevin Rogers: Lady’s Island resident, recently anointed state chess champion and 4-year-old.

A few quick facts: Kevin attends Alpha Christian Child Development Center on St. Helena Island and weighs about 40 pounds, according to his father, Darrin Rogers. He stands less than four feet on his tiptoes. He is doe-eyed, fidgety and gets bored easily. He and two godbrothers from Okatie started a chess team called the “Knight Raiders,” and they have official-looking T-shirts that are gold and black.

Apart from chess, he loves golf, football and basketball. When asked what his favorite TV show is, he screams, “Golf!” When asked why he likes to play chess so much, he silently points across his kitchen table to a grouping of several trophies and yells, “It’s right there: trophies!”

At the 2008 Scholastic Championships in Columbia in March, Kevin Rogers took first among kindergartners, winning two out of five games, including several against children in grades above him — not bad for someone who played his first game of chess in November.

Here is the full article.