Chess kings and queens reigning in grade schools

Things are looking grim for David Vehapedian. His bishop has just fallen to the pawn-sized Kasparov across the table. He slumps in his chair, resigned to checkmate.

''I'm pretty much dead," the 8-year-old says, resting his cheek in his palm.

On Mondays, a spirited group of students gathers after school for the chess club at St. Stephen's Armenian Elementary School in Watertown. Teacher Joe Perl gives them some pointers, then they pair off to play. The room roars with chatter, a mix of friendly advice, gentle ribbing, and victorious shouts.

Yet this isn't mere child's play -- they're mulling each move so they can outsmart their opponents.

It's a scene that's being repeated all around Boston's western suburbs. Chess has become increasingly popular among children, who are flocking to after-school clubs, private classes, and weekend tournaments, enthusiasts said. Depictions of ''wizard chess" in the Harry Potter books and movies have broadened the game's appeal, and the explosion of computer and Internet chess has opened new opportunities for children to learn the game.

''The hype is unreal," said Maryanne Reilly, a Massachusetts Chess Association official who oversees youth tournaments. ''Chess has really caught on, especially with younger kids."

Reilly, who also teaches weekly after-school chess classes at Mason-Rice Elementary School in Newton, said she believed youth chess has reached a ''critical mass" -- and that more and more children will be playing it in coming years.

Even young children can play the game and sometimes play it quite well, grasping strategies intuitively, she said.

She recalled playing a kindergartner once who, to her surprise, executed a complex sequence of moves known as the Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation.

''I asked him, 'Who taught this to you?' " she recalled. ''He said, 'This is just the way I like to play.' "

Nationally, the under-14 membership in the US Chess Federation, the official sanctioning body for tournament play, has grown fivefold since 1990. Last month, a youth tournament in Tennessee drew 5,270 entrants.

Closer to home, in Waltham, some 50 youngsters have gathered for the past four years at a Burger King for a monthly tournament. In Newton, three extra classes were added for children at Newton Community Education this year. In Natick, the MetroWest Chess Club, where the most populous age bracket is 10 to 20, begins its second year of introductory classes next week.

Today, while the Massachusetts Chess Association holds its adult state championship in Marlborough, children as young as 5 will compete in a youth division that organizers said has drawn sizable interest in recent years.

Lou Mercuri, a Natick resident and nationally ranked player who teaches classes at schools in Wellesley, Weston, and Southborough, said chess has become one of the most popular after-school activities for children. While most students learn the game from their parents, the explosion of Internet chess allows youngsters to play opponents around the globe at all hours.

''You can always get a game," he said.

The young players said they enjoy the variety of pieces and movements and the challenge of trying to outmaneuver an opponent. The games are never the same, and it's fun to test different strategies, the Watertown students said.

Parents have been enticed by the idea that the game can teach children to concentrate and think logically and creatively, chess teachers said. Parents also hope the game's thoughtful, deliberate pace will serve as a much-needed antidote to mindless, fast-paced video games, they said.

''It's not a sport, and it's not a math test," said Lisa Rucinski, children's program coordinator at Newton Community Education. ''But it combines the best of both."

Frank Wang said the game has helped his son, Andrew, the national fourth-grade chess champion, to focus his mind on a single task. Andrew attends The Sage School, a Foxborough school for academically gifted students that dominates competitions.

''In this nanosecond world, here's something where you can't always get instant gratification," said Marley Kaplan, president of Chess-in-the-Schools, a group that teaches the game to students grades 2 through 8 in 130 New York City schools. ''Some things take longer than a GameBoy."

Massachusetts public schools do not teach chess in the classroom, but Kaplan and others think they should. Students learn valuable skills such as planning ahead and taking responsibility for individual actions, they said.

The game is also shedding its image as a wonkish pursuit, teachers said. Larry Lampert, founder and president of the Minnesota-based School Chess Association, holds a summer chess camp that he said many popular, athletic children attend.

Reilly, the Massachusetts chess official, bristled at the ''outdated stereotype" that the game is nerdy.

''Kids think it's cool," she said. Mercuri agrees, saying, ''You get a real cross-section of kids."

Video game versions -- where pieces explode or are felled in hand-to-hand combat when captured -- have helped broaden the game's appeal, many teachers said. Mark LaRocca, of the MetroWest Chess Club in Natick, said younger students tend to prefer the faster, timed contests.

''It's our MTV world," he said. ''Everything has to be quick."

As students get older, they tend to give up the game in favor of sports and extracurricular activities. But many return to it after college, teachers said.

Back in Watertown in Joe Perl's class, 7-year-olds David Babikian and Vahan Der Kazaryan maneuver their pieces around the board, searching for an opening. Both boys are learning the game from their fathers and play often on the computer. But they haven't yet mastered the Budapest Gambit or the Luzhin Defense.

Moves come fast and furious; light-hearted cackles of ''I got you" or ''I ate you" accompany a capture; and checkmates seem to occur almost by accident. Still, both boys say they get an intellectual rush from the game.

''My favorite part is the brain part, when it really gets going," Babikian says, his voice accelerating with excitement. ''Sometimes it goes slow, but when I play chess, it goes fast."

Taking aim at two pieces in a row, a maneuver called a skewer, Babikian has his opponent on the run. Soon, Der Kazaryan's king has nowhere to go.

Der Kazaryan frowns.

''Let's play again," he says.