Challenge and camaraderie

‘King’s Game’ alive and well in the Victor Valley
Chess clubs offer tradition, challenge and camaraderie
March 1, 2009 – 2:34 PM
By Brooke Edwards
Victorville Daily Press – Victorville, CA, USA

VICTORVILLE • Elementary school students learn moves like the “rook roll” Tuesday evenings, under the guidance of the Brentwood custodian.

Wednesday and Friday nights, regulars drop into the Starbucks on Hesperia Road or the cafe inside Barnes & Noble with a checkered board under their arm, looking for a familiar face or nod of recognition.

And Saturdays, the real competition takes place at the Victor Villa Mobile Home Park.

Through formal and informal chess clubs, players say the “King’s Game” is alive and well in the Victor Valley.

“I thought it would be fun to have a club in the park like you see in the movies,” said Kevin Kassel, who tried to start up the Route 66 Chess Club a few years back, welcoming rookies and experts alike on Saturdays at Forrest Park in Old Town Victorville.

The idea never really took off and was put to rest when the park was torn down last year. But through that attempt, Kassel discovered options such as Don Cotten’s Victor Valley Chess Club.

Cotten, 71, fell in love with chess in the sixth grade, after reading a book about the game to fulfill a reading requirement at his elementary school.

He honed his skills during years in the Air Force and, more than half a century later, Cotten has earned the top rank of master with the United States Chess Federation three times. He’s also been president of the Southern California Chess League, editor of the All Services Postal Chess Club magazine and a delegate to the U.S. Chess Federation.

Cotten now is one level down from master rank as an expert and has led the Victor Valley Chess Club for the past three years or so.

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