Alisha Pansuria hardly ever sits down. The 7-year-old stands on the tips of her toes, placing her chin in her hands and silently studying the chess board.
“Sometimes, when I’m about to lose, I get nervous,” said Alisha, a second-grader at Natcher Elementary School.
But that doesn’t happen too often. Alisha’s coaches dub her a chess whiz with skills well beyond most people her age. She’s one of several young students who devote their afternoons to the game.
Chess clubs are becoming more prevalent in local elementary schools as teachers broaden after-school activities and look for unique ways to engage students in critical thinking.
After all, chess is a game of logic and skill.
“I’ve had parents come to me and say their children don’t play sports, and they thank me,” said Daniel Dixon, a coach for Natcher’s team. “With critical thinking, it’s beneficial, and plus it’s a recreation they enjoy.”
When Dixon, a fourth-grade teacher, and Zac Childers, a deaf and hard of hearing interpreter, started Natcher’s team in September, 15 children signed up to play.
Now, about 21 students attend chess club meetings. They have played a handful of other schools and are preparing for more games. Students joined for different reasons but, on a Tuesday afternoon, they were all silent, their eyes locked on their chess boards.
“If you’re having a bad day, you can say, ‘It’s Tuesday. Let’s play chess,’ ” said Yash Singh, 11, a fifth-grader.
Before Yash joined the chess club, he mostly made B’s on his report card. After playing chess for a few months, he finds it easier to read passages in language arts classes, and he’s now a straight A student, he said.
“It helps you a lot with education because you’re focused on the game,” he said. “One little distraction can throw your whole game off balance.”
At T.C. Cherry Elementary School, students have gathered after school to play chess for three years. Now, about 16 students are preparing for an upcoming chess tournament against other school districts. Kyle Peterson, a fourth- and fifth-grade teacher, is a chess player himself, and took charge of the school’s chess club two years ago.
“I think they learn a lot from it. They learn strategy; they learn critical thinking,” he said. “Something I’m big on is sportsmanship.”
He’s also a stickler for using logic and reasoning to win a chess game. He recently taught students algebraic notation, a way to read and record chess moves.
“They pick up on it fast,” Peterson said, “faster than adults would who don’t know how to play.”
Gabe Burch, a sixth-grader at Bowling Green Junior High School, visited the T.C. Cherry chess club last week. Twelve-year-old Gabe is a member of the middle school’s chess club - an activity that benefits all aspects of his life.
Gabe was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and focusing on the game helps him deal with the condition, he said.
“It helps my mind process things better,” he said. “It helps me think ahead.”
Dylan Gelderman, a fourth-grader at T.C. Cherry, wanted to join as many clubs as possible, and he quickly became absorbed in chess.
“It’s kind of almost like commanding an army, and it really fuels the imagination,” said Dylan, 10. “And I have a really great imagination.”
Ethan Keen, a fifth-grader at Natcher Elementary, began playing after watching a chess game demonstration on YouTube. He studied the video over and over and eventually taught himself to play chess. So, he was ecstatic when his school formed a team, he said.
“It helps with my listening comprehension,” said Ethan, 11. “You can’t just zone out.”
Coaches teach students moves and strategies, but practices mainly involve students playing against one another and helping each other. At Natcher, Dixon and Childers keep an eye on students and are on hand to answer questions, but they rarely tell students which way to move.
They let students figure out the game for themselves, Dixon said.
Alisha is no stranger to teaching herself new moves. She started playing a couple of years ago after her parents taught her the game.
In many ways, she’s a typical second-grade girl. She takes dance, swimming and piano lessons, and her favorite TV show is “Wizards of Waverly Place.” She recently changed her favorite color from purple to red.
On Tuesday, she sported a polka-dot shirt with sparkly jeans and purple fingernail polish. She’s one of the tiniest players in Natcher’s chess club, and she constantly instructs her teammates on the correct moves to make.
She often plays two people at once, and she’s beat several adults, including Natcher teachers. She doesn’t like to lose. In fact, most of Dixon’s students quit fidgeting and chattering when the chess boards come out.
“They want to win,” Dixon said. “They want to beat the other team.”
