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Young players keep emotions, foes in check 'Chess success' teaches strategy, organization - and how to win By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Eight-year-old Krista Larson found that in chess, there's an advantage to losing. "I learned the checkmate that kid did on me," she said as she waited for her next opponent. Krista was one of 85 students from 11 schools throughout the Rogue Valley participating in the 31st annual Chess Success Regional Scholastic Chess Tournament. The event, held at South Medford High School Saturday, was a qualifying tournament for the state finals to be held in Portland March 1 and 2. Krista said she plays because it's fun and she enjoys the social aspect of the tournaments. "We play a lot of different people," said the third-grader at Washington Elementary School. The event was organized by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Thomson, who coaches chess for Washington Elementary and McLoughlin Middle School students. Players are divided into three divisions: upper (grades nine through 12), intermediate (grades six through eight) and lower (grades kindergarten through fifth). While there have been kindergartners in regional tournaments in the past, Thomson said the youngest player in this year's tournament is in third grade. Not only do students learn how to play the six pieces in chess that all move differently, but they learn to think ahead and plan strategy, he said. Thomson said that through chess, his students learn two steps beyond the three R's: responsibility and reasoning. "They learn that this is not a game of luck," he said. "This is not a game of chance. If you win, it's because you played well." Kids play faster than adult chess players, because they tend not to agonize over moves. Time clocks are seldom needed for this level of player, he said. Nick Card, a 13-year-old from Jacksonville, first learned to play chess from his father about eight years ago. He said they play nearly every night. "It's helped me to organize better," Nick said. "I think it's helped me to plan more thoroughly." He said that while he doesn't enjoy losing, he's not one to throw his chess pieces across the room in frustration. "I try to be civilized," he said. But for some, the thrill of victory is important. "I won!" said J.D. Badizadegan, an eighth-grader from Scenic Middle School. "(My opponent) was pretty hard to play. "I pinned her bishop and put her in check with a horse. But after that, I got her king and rook in a knight fork and from there, I gradually put her in checkmate." Thomson described the activity as a fun game that appeals to all kinds of personality types and all ages. "Anybody can learn how to play chess," he said. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.