By Rory Laverty
STAFF WRITER
| THIRD-GRADER Rishabh Ajmera rests his chin
on his knuckles, his eyes riveted on the chess board. For half a minute he neither squirms nor speaks. Then Rishabh's opponent makes a hasty move, taking Rishabh's black knight but leaving his own bishop vulnerable. Rishabh, 9, acts quickly and decisively, capturing the white bishop and imperiling his enemy's king. Five moves and two minutes later, Rishabh breaks the silence. "Check." The six elementary school chess clubs in Fremont - Ardenwood, Forest Park, Mission, Chadbourne, Mission Valley and Weibel - recently dominated two of Northern California's biggest youth tournaments, the CalChess State Scholastics Tournament in March and the State Grade Level Championships on May 16. |
Fremont's chess success would
have been more remarkable if it had not been expected. In the Bay Area, other cities such as Berkeley, Palo Alto and Menlo Park also have strong youth chess programs. But in recent years, Fremont clubs have established regional dominance and an impressive collection of tournament trophies. People involved in the program said the success can be explained by the Fremont clubs' extensive training programs. Others point to highly motivated parents who enroll their children in the clubs because they believe learning chess carries educational benefits. Fremont resident Robert Lee discovered chess by watching his daughter and son play - first together, then in the Weibel club and finally against tournament opposition. Lee's 14-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, is now ranked 20th in the nation among girls 15 or younger. Lee believes motivated chess students are the product of motivated parents. |
| "In our club
it's the parentswho help the kids when exhibit interest in chess," he
said. "They help the kids succeed, in terms of buying chess, software and getting chess teachers so they get more out of it." Forest Park Chess Club president Jon Furakawa said parents involved with his club are more interested in their children reaping the educational benefits of chess than bringing home tournament trophies. "To a lot of parents, chess is an academic activity," he said. "These are parents who are really involved with their kids' education, not only with chess. Also piano, violin, music lessons." Lee and others think ethnic background plays a role in motivating students to pursue intellectual games like chess. Academic tradition "In China, academic achievement has been praised for the last 3,000 year' s, so Chinese students learn to study very hard," said Lee, who emigrated from China 30 years ago. "They learn that instant gratification gets punished right away. That's different from what most children learn here. |
"In chess, students
have to really think and plan out their moves. When they act on impulse, their opponent will seize the opportunity." Alan Kirshner said that in his 11 years as the Weibel club's president, he has noted that almost all his students enrolled at the urging of their parents, many of whom are first generation Chinese, Taiwanese, Filipino and Indian immigrants. "They realize that studying chess improves academic performance," he said. Six district schools have established chess clubs, and a seventh, Gomes Elementary School, has a club in the work All of them have ethnically diverse student populations. Beny Jain, president of Ardenwood Chess Club, agrees that upbringing and ethnic background are significant elements of parents' and children's interest in chess clubs. Logical thinking "In these families there is a lot of emphasis on high achievement, and there have been studies that say chess im proves kids' logical thinking " Jain said. |
"A lot of the parents who grew up in
India or China played this kind of game, so they want their kids to learn it One believer in the educational benefits of chess is Fremont parent Sujay Roy, who hails from India and now serves as a free, live-in chess tutor fo his daughter, Ankita.Roy attributed the success the city's youth chess clubs to superior motivation and training. "The kids get a good opportunity to practice and develop discipline in the chess clubs here," said Roy, a champion chess player as a youth in India who now volunteers to correct and grade homework for the Weibel club. "It s good motivation for them when they see other kids playing and winning." Five tournament wins Ankita, a kindergartner, plays with Weibel's competitive team. She has won five tournament trophies in the past six months. |
Her father described her as a natural, but he said her skills have surfaced more quickly because she plays regularly at home. Roy relishes the time they spend together over the chessboard. Across town, during an evening meeting of the Forest Park club, 9 year-old Rishabh was clearly relishing his time in front of the chess board as well. Rishabh, though, was more interested in victory than in his own chess education. After defeating his opponent, Rishabh spoke of why he enjoys playing. "Chess is fim and it's challenging," he said. "It's a hard task and you have to make hard decisions. If you make a wrong move, someone will capture you and get a checkmate." |