Making a move for the future

Three years ago, twin brothers Caleb and Connor Knight came to Talented and Gifted teacher Jenna Frank at Berkeley Glenn Elementary, begging to start a chess club at their school.

Though surprised by their request in a world dominated by television and video games, Frank organized yard sales and plant sales to get enough money together to purchase chess sets and then opened an invitation to all fourth and fifth graders at Berkeley Glenn in hopes of getting them to join the newly-chartered chess club.

The organization is now up to 18 members, and Frank believes it is something that will be beneficial to these students in the long run.

“Statistics have shown that kids who play chess score better on their SOLs and SATs,” Frank said. “It’s an inexpensive way to help kids grow mentally.”

The Berkeley Glenn chess club meets afters chool twice a month. The students play against one another and receive mini-lessons on different moves from Phil Hartzler, a chess player who has been ranked nationally.

Hartzler is retired from the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center and volunteers his time to work with the students in chess club and help them get a better understanding of the complex game. He has been playing chess since age 13 and is considered an “expert” by his ranking, one step below “chess master.”

He called chess a “nice complement to video games,” pointing to how it develops abstract reasoning, logical thinking, concentration, and perhaps most importantly, patience.

“Patience is the big one because kids nowadays are so used to having an immediate response from everything,” said Frank, referring to how cellphones and the Internet have cut out any kind of waiting time. “With chess, they have to stop and think, and it’s a novel thing now to stop and do that for a period of time.”

An end-of-the-year chess tournament will take place, in which students will play for trophies.

Frank also teaches Talented and Gifted classes at William Perry Elementary and is looking into launching a chess club there as well once she finds someone such as Hartzler with an extensive background in the game.

At Berkeley Glenn, chess club is not only developing its members intellectually, but also giving them another social avenue.

“Parents ask me, ‘What have you started?’” Frank said with a laugh. “The kids are getting together and having sleepovers, and the parents say they’re up until 2 in the morning playing chess!”