Chess Kids

(Previously published in Issue #11 of American Chess Magazine)

Two opponents face each other, determined looks on their faces.

No one makes a sound, all eyes on the competition taking place. The silence is broken only by the prerequisite trash talk expected at any sporting event.

“Don’t even think about it,” says one of the players, narrowing his eyes.

His opponent smiles, then makes the fateful move.

“Checkmate.”

The spectators laugh as the loser groans and hangs his head, the victor not bothering to stifle his giggles.

The Nashville Chess Center, a local curiosity since 1995, bears witness to many scenes like this.

“Oh, yeah, it gets competitive,” says director Todd Andrews. “Sometimes more than it has to be.”

Founded by Dr. Martin Katahn, a psychology professor, diet manual author and chess fan, the NCC provides a haven for anyone who loves chess.

“It’s a central headquarters for a little subculture that we have in our society,” says Andrews, a chess player since kindergarten. Here since the day the NCC opened its doors, Andrews officially joined the staff in 2007.

The members of the NCC come together to improve their skills and socialize with others who share their interest.

Players compete to increase their rating, a measurement over time of how good you are, explains Andrews.

These ratings establish a player’s title through the US Chess Federation and Fédération Internationale des Échecs, more commonly referred to as FIDE.

The title of FIDE master means recognition as a master player in every country in the world.

“You can’t just sit around and beat up on your homeboys to become a FIDE master,” says Andrews. “You have to go beat people from all over the world.”

He speaks from experience. With an overall score of 2400, Andrews holds the title of FIDE Master.

Most members are not quite at that level.

While the NCC mainly works with Davidson County elementary schools, the weekly tournaments welcome players from all schools and all ages.

“It’s a pretty even mix of kids and adults,” says Andrews. “But obviously there are some events that are only open to the kids.”

Like the weekly Sunday Scholastic Chess Club meeting, for example.

“I’ve been playing since I was 5,” says Janel Davis, 10, as she swings her shiny sneakers back and forth (her feet don’t quite reach the ground). “My dad taught me and my sisters.”

“I don’t like to play,” her younger sister, Jenesis, interrupts. “I like to set the board up.”

Davis rolls her eyes and leans in to whisper, “She’s so annoying.”

Anyone expecting a reserved gathering of mild-mannered kids needs to think again.

The large, three-story house echoes with the sounds of shrieking children and pounding feet going up and down the stairs.

Some of them are still getting the hang of chess basics.

“I put my horsey right here,” Davis boasts, leaning on her elbows as she surveys the board. “So now he can’t move his horsey.”

“It’s not a horsey, it’s a knight,” her opponent, a small boy in a Paw Patrol T-shirt, admonishes. “And that move is illegal, anyways.”

Even experienced players — as experienced as a preschooler can be — simplify the terms.

“Look how much I ate!” Freddie, a 4-year-old player, proudly gestures to the pieces he took in the game.

His dad smiles proudly as he films the whole thing on his phone, one of many parental observers today.

“Jack, focus on your game,” another father chastises his son, whose gaze wandered to the board next to him.

Other parents get more hands on.

“I play with him every now and then,” says Sharmila Pratheep as she looks down fondly at her son, Prithve. “But I thought it would be good for him to play some other children.”

Pratheep spends the majority of the meeting watching her son defeat other kids, some of them twice his age (he’s 5 and his chess career began six months ago).

Pratheep takes notes on her phone as Epiphany Peters, one of the NCC instructors, starts the day’s lesson on the Scotch Opening, which she describes as a popular chess maneuver.

“It’s not popular with me!” one of the boys responds, his answer an interruption to the farting noises he has been making with his mouth for the last five minutes.

He’s not the only one distracted.

Halfway through the lesson, Pratheep gestures furiously at her son and hisses at him to “take that out of your mouth!”

He sheepishly puts the now-slobbery queen back on the board.

Don’t mistake the flippant attitudes for disinterest, though. Even as the kids fiddle with the chess pieces in front of them, they eagerly fling their hands in the air to answer Peters’ questions.

Their enthusiasm reaches almost comical levels.

“Remove the defender!” one girl shouts, fighting the urge to stand on her chair. She settles for a crouch.

“Sacrifice the piece! Sacrifice the piece!” another boy waves his hand above his head in an effort to make sure Peters hears him over the din.

This raucous atmosphere contrasts starkly with the Friday Night Fights, a weekly chess tournament the NCC puts on for players of all ages.

That’s when an almost-oppressive silence permeates the house, the only movement coming from a handful of adult players in the corner. They look up sharply as the door opens with a clatter, but quickly go back to their games.

Posters of different chess masters, most unheard of by the general public, but hero-worshiped at the NCC, plaster the walls. Flyers advertise local chess tournaments and chess tutors for hire. Chess pieces appear everywhere you look; spilling out of bins, lining bookshelves, even a stray pawn sticking out of a floor grate.

For local chess lovers, the NCC is a place where they feel like they belong.

“We’ve created a community,” says Andrews. “A lot of kids get their sense of identity from being a part of our community, and a lot of adults do, too. Playing chess is just their thing.”

This community, however, lacks a significant amount of females.

“It is a very male-dominated sport,” Andrews says. “Once girls get into middle school, it’s challenging to keep them involved.”

Peters, the highest rated female player in Tennessee, agrees.

“I’m often the only female player in tournaments,” she shrugs. “I wish there were more.”

The kids’ Sunday afternoon meeting enjoys its fair share of girls, though, and they hold their own.

“You can take my rook, you know,” a pigtailed little girl advises her partner. “But I’ll still get you in check.”

Many of the other children also coach their opponents.

“Move your pawn there,” Pratheep directs Davis.

He then eliminates said pawn with one sweeping move of his bishop.

“Prithve, play fair,” his mother laughs. She believes chess enhances her son’s focus and strategic thinking. Seeing him in action proves her point.

Along with cunning takedowns, the kids connect with each other.

“There’s a huge social aspect,” says Peters. As a child chess player who learned the rules at age 4 and starting playing competitively at 6, Peters refers to the chess tournaments of her youth as “super exciting.”

“I’ve made a lot of friends through chess,” she smiles. “It’s such a big part of my life and I love passing it along to the children who come here.”

It’s clear the kids who come to the NCC every week love the game, too, from their excitement to discuss chess masters, to the way they slap the top of the chess clocks with enthusiasm.

Of course, there are other reasons to win.

“My mommy says if I play well, we can get ice cream on the way home,” a gap-toothed girl gloats to the others watching her play.

She is, after all, only 7.