Call everyone a bit surprised, and every bit tickled, that the
new lunchtime chess program at Geyserville Elementary School is a
big hit with community youngsters.
School principal Tonya Giusso recently asked three volunteers to
teach students how to play chess, but even she admits she didn’t
expect a classroom full of students to start showing up on a
regular basis. The school now hosts chess two afternoons a week,
but some students are even playing on afternoons when the group
doesn’t officially meet.
“I was very surprised,” said Giusso. “One day we had 30 kids
there. Some come one day a week, some come two. Some come in on the
off-days and play by themselves. I knew there was a niche at our
campus and that we needed to bring this on.”
Giusso approached volunteers John Murphy and Mike Crowley —
retired engineers from OCLI and Hewlett Packard respectively — to
teach chess during lunch. The two were already regular volunteers
in school science classes and agreed to try the new program. The
two were joined by Sabe Levy, a third retired volunteer who loves
chess.
The activity was a hit. Students of all ages crowded into a
classroom at lunch, pairing up around chess boards for the
afternoon game. The three volunteers patrol the room, explaining
rules and strategies as they go.
“It’s awesome,” said Murphy. “You have to keep re-teaching some
of the moves and keep an eye out to make sure they don’t come up
with their own clever moves, but they get it. They’re great kids.
This is a unique school.”
“It’s very rewarding,” said Crowley. “Almost all of the children
have shown remarkable progress.”
Crowley believes the game will ultimately help students develop
valuable mental skills and patience. “Chess teaches the player to
think ahead,” he said. “You have to plan ahead and visualize
possibilities for not only the opponent’s next move, but three or
four moves ahead. That’s a challenge, and it’s fun.”
On Tuesday, students paired up to play a dozen games. Victoria
Shura, 10, challenged Levy to a match. There the two sat for an
hour, one a fourth grader new to the game and the other a retired
salesman who first began playing decades before his opponent was
even born.
Shura carefully moved her pieces, mounting her attack.
“Excellent,” said Levy, admiring one of Shura’s moves. “Now,
what did you do?”
“I dunno,” she responded.
“It’s called a fork,” he said, pointing to her piece.
Whether it’s teaching the fork — a move with one piece that
attacks two or more of the opponent’s — or simply explaining how
each piece moves, volunteers have found Geyserville Elementary
School students a quick study in the art of chess.
“We were very surprised to see the response from the children,”
said Crowley. “We were skeptical when we first started but they
have surprised us.”
Students said the new activity is a welcome change from the
day-to-day lunchtime routine. “It’s kind of a strategy game, and
it’s fun,” said Henry Boustani, 11. “I like playing against
people.”
“It relaxes me,” said Cynthia Cendejes, 10. “We’re going to have
a tournament with the other schools and that’s going to be really
fun.”
Giusso said that other school happens to be Alexander Valley
Elementary School. “Principal Raines called me and asked if we
wanted to play,” she said. “I think they think they’re going to
beat us. I think we’re going to surprise them.”
