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A Perfect Match

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 21, 2007

They were like fish out of water when they walked into their first tournament a year and five months ago, recalled Roy Moral.

Moral, assistant principal at Palm River Elementary School and sponsor of the school's Palm River Knights chess club said he didn't have a clue what they were getting into when they entered their first chess tournament. They'd only formed the club two months before.

It was obvious from the start that the club was outgunned and outclassed.

Many of the opponents the team were up against were from private schools where parents pay $13,000 a year in tuition and think nothing of hiring professional chess coaches to prepare their children for tournaments.

In contrast, a lot of the parents of the students in the Palm River chess club work minimum-wage jobs. Some work two jobs to keep the bills at bay. They can't afford after-school care, much less private schools or chess tutors. And the chess club was originally intended to keep the kids out of trouble and off the streets rather than for intellectual stimulation.

"This is a bit of a rough neighborhood," said Moral, who knows about such neighborhoods having been raised on the mean streets of New York City. That's where he learned to direct his energy toward positive social activities such as chess and away from crime and drugs.

He began talking about forming a chess club at Palm River with Dave Denny, a science teacher at Palm River who started a chess club at Mendenhall Elementary School when he taught there 15 years ago, and Ignacio Barrera, Palm River's head custodian, who perfected his chess-playing skills while growing up in Cuba where it's a popular pastime.

At best, the men expected to entice a handful of students.

"But we decided to give it a shot," said Moral.

To their surprise, the Knights have become the "cool" group at the school with 25 members from kindergarten through fifth grade.

"They're not chess nerds," said Moral. "It's more a leadership club. The members are expected to be models for the school, participate in civic activities, and they're motivated to do well and keep up their grades to stay in the club."

Jesse Dickens, 11, team captain, was the first to sign up. Always a leader at school, he was responsible for recruiting many of the members.

"I'd played some chess and knew the basics, but not a whole lot," said Dickens. "I thought it would be interesting and I wanted to learn more so I joined."

Jose Borras, 11, was among the students Dickens lured into joining the club.

"Jesse got me interested and, the more I played, the more I liked it," he said.

Actually, said Moral, Borras, one of the team's top players, took to the game quickly. "He's a thinker, very patient."

It was Moral himself who recruited Levi Hoyos, 11. Moral knew the smart, outgoing kid who depended on a wheelchair would thrive on the chess team. The problem was rescheduling doctor's appointments so he could attend the once-a-week after-school club meetings.

"I worked with his mom and we made the arrangements, and here he is," said Moral.
The teacher who'd taken over Denny's old team at Mendenhall encouraged the Knights to enter their first tournament two months after the team formed.

"We didn't realize until we got there that it was a regional tournament," said Moral. "But we took fourth place anyway."

There was no stopping the Knights from that moment on.

The fourth- and fifth-grade players walked away with first-place trophies at every tournament they entered and the younger players placed second at nearly every tournament, ahead of schools like Berkeley Preparatory School, where students have the advantage of chess tutors.

Math specialist Jeff Dimapasoc, fourth-grade teacher Elizabeth Denny and guidance counselor Nicole Matthew have since volunteered their time, talents and transportation to the club, which generally competes in a tournament once or twice a month.

In December, the Knights, wearing matching black T-shirts with logos designed by Moral and Matthew, entered their first national tournament in Orlando, placing 14th out of 48 teams around the country.
But the real coup came on Jan. 20. That's when the Knights returned to the regional match where they'd previously placed fourth and won by 2 ½ points, a landslide in the world of chess.
That qualified the team to compete in the state tournament in March.

Unfortunately, the Knights' treasure chest is nearly empty. Up until now, the chess club has funded its tournament fees, transportation and overnight stays with fundraising barbecues, ice cream sales, grants from the Greater Brandon and Riverview chambers of commerce and the Hillsborough Education Foundation.

The club recently found a fan in Ron Pierce, director of government relations and community affairs for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Pierce previously was aide to former Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, and continues to oversee the Tom Lee Foundation, a charitable grant program Lee established while in the Senate.

"These kids are unbelievable," said Pierce after spending an afternoon with the chess club. "People need to know what they've been able to accomplish."

The club received a helping hand from the Tom Lee Foundation, enabling it to go to the state tournament. But Moral said the Knights are still seeking sponsorships to offset the cost of the club's other tournament expenses.

"Tournament fees can run from $20 to $50 per kid," said Moral. "Then there are the travel expenses and hotel stays. We figure the cost to Miami will be $250 per child. That's half to two-thirds of a weekly paycheck for some of these parents."

Some of the members have been invited to play in the Gainesville All-Star Invitational Tournament in May, a weekend event expected to cost $1,000 per child, said Moral. Anyone able to help can send checks to the Palm River Knights Chess Club, Palm River Elementary School, 805 Maydell Drive, Tampa, FL 33619.

Despite the time, money and effort, Moral never questions if it's worth it. He just looks at the children bent over their chess board, intently studying their queens and pawns every Wednesday afternoon, and he knows the answer.

"We did an informal study of the students' test results before and after they started playing chess," he said. "They had an average gain of 15 points on their tests. There are a lot of strategic and critical thinking skills that go into playing chess."

"Studies show playing chess helps with math, science, geometry, physics, a lot of different subjects," added Denny.

For a kid growing up in a rough neighborhood, chess can teach him to make the right choices, said Moral, speaking from experience.

"Chess can teach you a lot about life. It promotes problem-solving. Instead of being reactionary, it teaches you to think and make the correct decision, which can be very important in an environment with violence and dope," he said. "It also teaches you fair play. You have to follow rules and there are consequences for not following the rules. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to get ahead just as you have to in life. It teaches you persistence and patience. You never give up even when you're losing because the other player may make a mistake and you could still win. But, you never settle anything with violence. No matter who wins, everyone shakes hands before leaving the table."

D'Ann White is editor of The Brandon News

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