Chess arrives at the Great Park

November 19, 2009 3:41 PM
Chess arrives at the Great Park
By SEAN EMERY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

IRVINE – The Great Park is welcoming the “sport of kings” on Saturday, with students from across Southern California set to compete in the park’s first chess tournament.

After decades of moving between various school campuses in Buena Park, Santa Ana and Orange, organizers of the 34th annual Staser Fall Scholastic Chess Tournament are hoping to have found a home at the former El Toro airbase.

The tournament comes as park leaders inspired by public chess opportunities at high profile venues such as Washington Square Park in New York and MacArthur Park in Los Angeles are hoping to turn the Great Park into an Orange County chess destination.

Saturday’s tournament is one of two held annually by American Chess Equipment, an Anaheim-based company run by Dewain Barber, a retired Orange County teacher and longtime chess aficionado. The free tournament is open to all students, from kindergarten to high school, with players competing by class level.

“It’s a cultural thing that has grown up with the parks and coffee houses, and it is something that has a place at the Great Park,” Barber said.

Great Park Chairman Larry Agran said the games multi-generational appeal is what spurred him to push for chess at the park.

“I think it is very much in keeping with the theme of our park, which is that there is something for everyone,” Agran said. “It’s wonderful to go out there and see a grandfather playing a grandchild, two young folks playing each other, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, it is quite remarkable.”

Some park officials were initially skeptical that chess would draw much interest, Agran said. But the inclusion of chess tables at this summer’s entertainment series turned into a surprise hit, organizers said.

“What they found was a whole host of people watching the games and players,” Barber said. “They said they were really surprised at the level of interest. There are millions of people who play chess. They aren’t tournament players, they are casual players.”

The park already has another tournament in the pipeline, Barber said, with a state championship sponsored by the Garden Grove-based Chess Palace scheduled for March.

And, as work begins on making the ambitious Great Park a reality, Barber wants to make sure there is always a place for players looking for a little intellectual competition.

“We’re in the crawling stages. This is the golden opportunity to start a tradition that will draw the people of Orange County to the park,” Barber said. “If they stay with chess, there is a built in audience there.”

Those interested in taking part in the chess tournament can register by e-mailing their name, grade and school to amchesseq@aol.com by 6 p.m. on Friday. For directions or information about the Great Park, visit www.ocgp.org.

Source: http://www.ocregister.com