Between 15 and 20 children ranging from kindergarten age to eighth-graders square off against each other every week; an additional chess program, with an emphasis on strategy, is planned.
Isaac MacArthur, left, squares off against his friend and rival Peter "Sam" Van Buren at the East Longmeadow Public Library chess club. Both are 9. EAST LONGMEADOW - At the East Longmeadow Public Library recently, two 9-year-olds squared off in a chess match as part of a club that meets weekly.
To hear these youngsters talk about the game one would think they were channeling chess legends Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky.
“Chess exercises the brain and makes you think about what your opponent is going to do next,” said Peter “Sam” Van Buren, a student at Mountain View Elementary School. “Against most people I win, but against a few people like Isaac here, I lose very painfully.”
He is referring to Isaac MacArthur, who has been playing in the chess club for almost two years.
“I like how you get to develop a strategy and then get to play it out against an opponent and see if it’s any good,” said MacArthur, who is home schooled and learned the game from his father.
The boys are among a group of between 15 and 20 children who weekly take advantage of the free chess program at the 60 Center Square library. Children ranging from kindergarten age to eighth-grade have been playing against each other for the past six years when the program started, according to children’s librarian Cynthia MacNaught. She ran a similar program at the Pine Point branch library in Springfield and brought the idea to the East Longmeadow library when she changed jobs.
“Kids are serious all the time in school so we wanted them to love it and have fun with it,” MacNaught said. “It’s a very focused activity and one you can grow with.”
Peter Van Buren, Sam’s dad, has been volunteering as club advisor for the last year and a half. It was happenstance that the elder Van Buren took on that role.
He and Sam were returning books to the library in September 2010 and an employee in the children’s section of the library asked if Sam was there to play chess. Peter Van Buren saw his son’s excited reaction when he learned there was a club, which at that time was in need of someone to formally run it.
“I love chess. They needed an advisor. How could I say no?” said Peter Van Buren, who teaches physics at East Longmeadow High School. “If you like solving challenges and puzzles and you’re competitive, it’s a great combination.”
While the emphasis is on having fun, participants still need to follow informal rules Peter Van Buren established: no using electronics such as cell phones during play, no slamming the chess pieces around and no yelling and screaming - win or lose.
In the near future, the library may offer a more structured chess session with an emphasis on strategies to move participants to the next level, which would be in addition to the weekly club meeting, Peter Van Buren said.
MacNaught and Peter Van Buren hope that even children who don’t know how to play will join the club, as they are willing to teach the game.
“We don’t care if kids don’t know how to play. It’s for anybody who wants a new experience, to get together with friends or make new friends,” MacNaught said.