Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  You could almost hear their brains buzzing, going back and forth between moves. A group of kids sitting at a table, staring at the squares in front of them and not moving their thumbs?

Their focus was intense, their monosyllabic comments to each other terse, but they were not immersed in a video game or text messaging, they were dueling in the time-honored game of chess.

Knight against knight, rook against rook, queen against king.

The Nederland Community Library hosts about 15 kids on Thursdays, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. from now until March 22. Elementary school students in grades 1-5 will be taught the fundamentals and given a chance to play with their peers as well as take on Mike Sivcovich, the NCO Youth Services Coordinator. Mike says some of the students have developed the skills to beat him on the board, which, he says makes him optimistic about them but conflicted about his abilities.

The kids love to checkmate him. They also love to checkmate each other, a victory that involves thinking and planning.

Ezra Lynn Leary, 10, says, “It’s like you get to strategize. It’s really cool stuff. You get to move the castles across the board, from one place to another.”

The kids rest on their elbows, bring their knees up to their chins and concentrate. Sometimes as they pick up a piece ready to move, Mike will give them a subtle warning and they regroup for a while, studying the risks and the options.

Seven-year-old Javier Kilmer says he has played for 20 days now and says it isn’t so much that he likes the castles, he likes the act of castling, moving the rook to replace the king. “That’s my favorite move. I kind of like also going to war with someone.”

Gary Kociel, 9, says he has been playing chess since he was five when his uncle taught him how to play. “I’m pretty good, but not as good as she is,” he said nodding at his opponent Ruby Gustafson. He says he finds board games more fun than video games.

Ruby, 9, has also been playing since she was five years old. She says her dad taught her and they play several times every week.

“The knight is my favorite piece. It is unique from the other pieces. I think it would be really fun to have a chess club in middle school.”

While some of the players are eager to make a plan, to learn how to play strategy, Jordan Kilmer says, “I win a lot even though I do random moves, no real strategy.”

Teaching chess has been a learning experience for Mike. He says winners seem to change weekly. “What amazes me about this is the level of mutual respect and sense of honor that comes with these competitive students. However – the highest compliment I can pay to our top and older players is their patience and willingness to work with the younger, less experienced students who join us. The mentorship that we are seeing warms my heart more than an extra spicy bowl of chili. It’s that good.”

The club began nine weeks ago and is still growing, more students show up all the time. Mike never imagined that there were so many chess players in town. He says the best part is that students are coming with background knowledge of the game, indicating they have played before. “Despite there being some very competitive games and personalities, the level of maturity and sportsmanship surpasses that of some adult softball leagues. There are some obvious goals that we aim for with this group, but certainly character development, honor and perseverance are among the underlying goals. We couldn’t be prouder of our kiddos that come to challenge themselves and their friends every week.”

(Originally published in the February 1, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)