Local chess leagues cater to children

Look out basketball fans, it's time for a new game.\nChess leagues are gaining momentum in the area, and the Banneker Center and Templeton Elementary School are two more places that have decided to check out the checkmate game. \nThey follow the Bloomington Indiana Community Youth Chess League (BICYCLe), which has been offering a chess club to area children for the past year. \nThe clubs offer local youth a place where they can have fun in competition, get instruction, gauge their improvement and make friends who share a common interest. \nBloomington resident Steve Volan started the league.\n"The benefits of chess are clear," parent and Bloomington resident Kent Orr said. "But, in these clubs, kids are sharing the joy of playing. And Steve (Volan) has a natural ability to emphasize fun over competition. While a child, I had a great love of chess, but after a little improvement I soon found myself with no one to play. I stopped playing. \n"I wish I had had this type of environment and opportunity to play and compete. Kids love and need a constant stream of new ways to be creative, and BICYCLe provides them these opportunities on a weekly basis."\nOrr said he has a lot of gratitude for the program since his daughter joined.\n"I decided to attend because my daughter had expressed great excitement for the new after-school activity, and I had to come and see for myself what it was all about," he said. "That beautiful spring day was nothing to compare with what I was about to witness. When I walked through the doors I was astonished. \n"There were about 45 kids running around completely excited about the game of chess. Not basketball, not softball, but chess. There were kids in competition, kids teaching strategies and kids just watching. And since, there is rarely a day that passes that my daughter does not play a game with either her mother or me. Chess is now a family activity." \nThe league held its first chess tournament Feb. 17 at Binford Elementary in Bloomington. Seventy children grades K-8 participated. Trophies were given to the top three winners, and other prizes were donated from local community businesses.\n"Steve has a gift as a teacher. The way he breaks things down to the kids is amazing," volunteer Peter Kaczmarczyk said. \nBloomington resident Adrian Burnim, building supervisor for the Benneker Community Center, said the center's chess club meets from 5-6:30 p.m. every Friday at 930 W. Seventh St. \nAll skill levels are welcome and there is no cost. For more information, call 349-3735.