Chess tournament popular with schoolchildren
By Catherine Martin
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Kenzie Andreasen, 11, was graceful as she defeated her opponent at Lange Middle School yesterday morning. She waited patiently to put him in checkmate — having five pieces to his one — and then shook his hand to congratulate him on a good match.
“I feel happy, but sometimes I feel sorry for the other person,” Kenzie said.
Kenzie, a fifth-grader, is part of the chess club at Cedar Ridge Elementary and was one of 131 kids who participated in a chess tournament for grades K-7 at Lange yesterday.
The tournament has grown steadily since its start in the late 1990s. Over the past few years, it has grown by about 20 to 30 percent, said Tim Campbell, one of the organizers.
“I think more and more parents are recognizing the intellectual aspects of chess and high level of thinking it involves,” said Erica Borcherding, co-director of the Lange chess club.
Roger Andreasen, Kenzie’s dad, is one parent who sees the benefits. “It’s mentally stimulating, and it forces a person to think spatially,” he said.
In fourth grade, Kenzie asked her father to teach her the game, and she has improved dramatically since, he said.
“It’s pleasing to me. As she is improving it’s more of a challenge to play her,” Andreasen said. “It’s much more fun for me as an adult, and it’s nice to see her grow.”
Kenzie has noticed the benefits, too.
“It makes your mind think about different things you wouldn’t normally think of,” she said. “You use different strategies … to make sure you have a good game.”
For some of the younger players, the game’s appeal is simpler.
“My favorite part is the popcorn,” 6-year-old Ben Dickson said of the chess club at Lee Elementary. Beating other first-graders is fun, too, Ben said, and he “almost beat a second-grader once.”
Chess clubs are now at several elementary and middle schools, and clubs in some schools, such as Lange, are growing. In the three years Borcherding has been involved with the Lange club, the number of kids that stuck with it throughout the year has jumped from five to 10 to 35 to 40.
She said she’s tried to encourage more girls to join and the club is now up to about 10, but Borcherding would still like to see more. Twelve-year-old Isabel Fagre said she thinks more of her friends would enjoy it if they gave it a try.
“It’s a fun game,” she said. “I like strategy games that make you think — they’re more challenging.”
Source: http://www.columbiatribune.com
This is awesome.