Chasing checkmate

Andrew Edwards

The contestants were small, but they aspired to be masterminds of

strategy. Commanding rows of pawns, knights and even kings and

queens, the children at the Laguna Beach Junior Chess Tournament

executed a series of moves and counter-moves as they tried to outwit

each other.

About 25 players came to the third annual Laguna Beach Junior

Chess Tournament on June 25. The competition, held at El Morro

Elementary School, gave experienced youngsters and new players the

chance to compete for trophies and see how they measure up against

each other.

The tournament was open to players as young as kindergartners and

as old as eighth-graders, and drew contestants from Laguna Beach and

surrounding cities. The children, who were divided into three skill

levels, played in a round-robin series, giving everyone a chance to

face-off against all the players in their group.

The big winner was Ed Yragui, 14, who attends Newhart Middle

School in Mission Viejo. Ed took home the first place trophy for his

performance versus the highest-rated contestants at the event. “You

gotta really work at it, you can’t appreciate winning unless you lose

a lot,” he said.

For many other players, Friday was their first shot at a formal

chess match. One of the youngest children attending was Kevin

Coulson, who made his chess debut just three days before his 6th

birthday. Kevin wanted to challenge older players and show what a

child his age could do.

“Little kids could be better,” he said.

As the games went on, the room, which echoed even the faintest

sounds, was fairly quiet. The players were mostly quiet as they

studied on the chessboards and planned their next moves. It’s a

thinking person’s game, and many of the players said they were drawn

to the game because they enjoy the mental challenge of chess.

“I just think it’s fun and you have to think a lot,” 8-year-old

Hunter Perez said. “It’s hard.”

Playing chess, and cultivating strategic skills, could pay off in

the long run, 8-year-old Alex Wolcott said.

“Say you went in to the military, and you become a general ... you

need to know a lot about strategy,” Alex said.

For many of the players, Friday was the first chance they had to

meet new opponents, which helped to make the matches more enjoyable.

“It’s more fun to play against people you just met,” 7-year-old

Korey Tolley said. “It’s more challenging. You don’t know their

strategy, you learn more strategy.”