ROGERS — Girls are playing chess at Birch Kirksey Middle School.
Nearly two-thirds of the 30 students who trickle into Lee Van Allen’s classroom Wednesday mornings are girls. That is something unusual in the world of chess, said Katherine Hudson, REACH facilitator at the school.
The girls, however, see nothing unusual in it.
Gracie Matthews, a sixth-grader, joined the club three weeks ago.
“I play because I wanted to learn how to play chess,” Gracie said.
“Chess is amazing,” said McKenzie Hale, a seventh-grader.
Why should boys have all the fun, Hudson said she asked the girls she recruited for the program. The chess program at Kirksey began last year.
Students who know the game are paired with those who have less experience.
“They get a little peer help,” Van Allen said.
The game teaches students to take risks and learn from mistakes, Hudson said. Success doesn’t come without overcoming failure, she said.
“Chess is brain food,” Hudson said.
Chess is a game of pattern recognition and planning, said Stephen Paulson, president of the Arkansas Chess Association. Chess programs have grown in Arkansas schools in recent years, he said.
“I think chess helps students in the areas of critical and analytical thinking. It also helps with concentration and focus,” Paulson said.
The state association hosts the Arkansas Scholastic State Championship in the spring. Middle-school winners can advance to the Dewain Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions. The highest placing girl can attend the Susan Polgar National Invitational, which takes its name from the first female player to qualify to compete in the Men’s World Chess Championship in 1986.
Next week, 19 Kirksey students will head to chess competition in Farmington.
Greer Lingle Middle School has had an active chess club for years and is also sending a student to next week’s tournament. Players at Lingle are at all skill levels, said Jane Keen, REACH facilitator.
Her group has about 15 students and meets on both Wednesday and Fridays.
Chess requires use of both sides of the brain, Keen said, and fosters critical thinking.
Everett Watson, is in seventh grade and placed second in last year’s Northwest Arkansas Chess Competition. His father and his grandmother played chess, Watson said. He said he likes playing with competitors who think out their moves.
“Kids look at strategies differently. They look at the board as a game instead of a competition,” Everett said.