Buzzing with strategy: LJ Bell’s Chess Club makes bold moves

ROCKINGHAM — With the precision of a well-executed checkmate and the energy of a hive in motion, the LJ Bell Elementary School Chess Club continues to make strategic moves both on and off the board. The club recently unveiled a brand-new outdoor chessboard with life-sized playing pieces—a gift to the school made possible through generous community sponsorships.

“We’re giving that as a club to the school to encourage other schools to start this remarkable game,” said Robert Colf, club coordinator and detention teacher. “Lowe’s gave us half of the pavers out there and then I bought the other half of the pavers.”

The club’s success has created a buzz among students, with over 40 active members and more than 20 others on a waiting list. Demand has grown so rapidly since the club’s launch on Oct. 3 that registration was reopened just a few months later.

“By January we opened it back up because we had so much interest in school,” Colf said. “We have 42 students and 20 plus that are on a waiting list.”

The enthusiasm is echoed in the hallways.

“They ask you in the hallway ‘can we join chess today?’ I had a kid ask me today as I was going outside ‘hey Ms. Harding I want to be on the chess club!’” said Jodi Harding, the second grade teacher who helped spark the idea for the club. She added, “It’s exciting and then we’ll have fifth graders move up, so we’ll have more spots open.”

The club’s foundation is a team effort, supported by volunteers and teachers. Second grade teachers Emily Burns and Mary Hannah Crawley joined forces with PTO President Ashley Jenkins, Catherine Lang and Donna Pevoto to provide the support needed for the club to flourish.

“We couldn’t do this without volunteers,” Harding said. “My mom helps— we have Mrs. Crawley who is a second grade teacher, Mrs. Burns who’s a second grade teacher and Mrs. Jenkins who’s our PTO President— she comes and helps and we have another parent that comes from Richmond Senior High School that comes and helps us, but we could not do it without them. We have a lot of support and we have parents that volunteer a lot that will send in snacks for all of the kids. It’s really a group effort to make it happen.”

Local businesses and community leaders have also played an important role in the club’s success. Sponsors include Taskmasters, Dunkin Donuts, Bob and Wanda Colf, Otuel’s Gas Station, all Rockingham Food Lion locations, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Dieffenbach GM Superstore, Commissioner Jamie Gathings and Peking Wok Chinese Restaurant.

Gathings, who shares the club’s vision for chess as a tool for growth, sees the impact as long-term.

“I’m all about the kids. Anything that helps the kids stay out of trouble and learn life skills— chess to me is a lot like life,” he said. “Every move you make on a chessboard could be critical or could be good, so you have to strategize and make sure you’re making the right moves.”

Colf echoed that sentiment. “Patience, decisive moves and being articulate with not only the moves that they make on the chessboard, but the moves they make in life. I want them to understand for every wrong move you make, there’s a consequence. Every mistake you make in life is a consequence and this is a good game to instill that.”

Harding emphasized how chess helps steer students away from screen time and toward deeper thinking.

“It’s something that kids are not learning today, so it’s something we just wanted to bring back for them because it’s not a video game, it’s not a TV show, you’re using your mind to think about things and they need more of that than anything today,” she said.

Colf added, “We wanted to instill in the kids something other than electronics. This is one of the world’s oldest games and as you can tell, it still thrives.”

From the cafeteria to the Charlotte Chess Center, the club’s young players are already proving their skill. Four students competed last winter in the US Open tournament held in Charlotte, marking the first of what may be many steps toward competitive play.

Looking ahead, Colf hopes to grow the program beyond the elementary level.

“We hope to keep it going. I kind of wanted to follow the club for every school that the kids go to. So if they go to the public middle school, probably start another chess club there, go to the junior high, I’ll start another one there, go to the senior high, start another one there.”

“I would love for the school system to instill chess in all the schools to start a chess program in all of the schools,” he said. “To me, that would be great because it would just help all of the different schools and all of the students.”

For now, the club continues to meet every Thursday after school from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. in the school cafeteria, providing both an academic and social incentive.

“We use it as an incentive — we expect them to have good grades, good behavior in school,” said Harding. “That’s what I look forward to because it’s something to work for.”