All the right moves Local chess movement gaining momentum

By J. NOEL ESPINOZA

The Brownsville Herald

As a senior master and chess consultant, Raymond D. Duque hopes that one day

every student in the Brownsville Independent School District has the

opportunity to play the game once reserved for kings.

Duque, a BISD chess consultant and probably the only chess player with the

rank of senior master in the Rio Grande Valley, said his dream is to see a

districtwide chess program.

Duque became involved with helping the district after J.J. Guajardo, a former

Russell Elementary School teacher, started a chess club at the school in the

early 1990s, he said.

As a long-time professional player, Duque said Guajardo sought his expertise.

The partnership resulted in the first organized tournament in Brownsville,

held at Hanna High School in 1993.

That tournament was open to grades K through 12, Duque said. Id give

credit to J.J. Guajardo as the organizer of that tournament. You could say it

was the beginning of chess in Brownsville.

As students developed their skills, BISD became a chess powerhouse in the

Valley, capturing state and national titles.

A board game for two players, each chess player possesses an initial force of

a king, a queen, two bishops, two knights, two rooks and eight pawns, all

maneuvering and following individual rules of movement with the objective of

capturing the opposing king.

Duque, who moved with his family to Brownsville in the late 1980s, has played

against the best in the world including the Russian World Champion Garry

Kasparov. Even though Kasparov has been known as the best player in the world

for a while, Duque said 10 years ago American Bobby Fischer was the best in

the world. Above senior master chess, Duque said there is international master

and grand master, which is the top rank.

Although the origins of chess are debated, Duque believes it started in India,

where it was the game of kings and the elite.

Chess is an expensive sport and a lot of people dont realize that, Duque

said. In the beginning, chess was played only by royal families. Slaves and

the general public werent allowed to play the game.

As a chess consultant, Duque coaches public and private school students at $40

to $50 an hour. The senior master also runs his own school, the Royal Knights,

downtown.

Duque said several factors led to local schools success. They have won seven

consecutive state championships in the past few years, he said. This is

possible because of the parents, the children themselves, and the teachers.

Duques dream might be close to reality. Daniel Garcia, superintendent at

Hanna High School, said the district is planning to implement a districtwide

chess program next school year.

We want everyone to have the opportunity to participate and play chess if

they wish to do so, Garcia said.

On Saturday, a large delegation of local players, coaches and parents will

represent the district at the two-day Texas State Chess Tournament in Corpus

Christi.

Victor Flores, a mathematics teacher and chess coach at Vela Middle School,

said 28 local schools will compete, including 18 elementaries, eight middle

schools and two high schools.Vela Middle School is a defending state

co-champion along with Houston Lanier Middle School. Flores said the district

has a good chance of capturing several state titles this year. He said players

from the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College team

will also be present.

Were very proud of our students, Flores said. They are ambassadors for our

city.

Arturo Gracia, an eighth-grade student and one of the top chess players at

Vela, said he has loved chess since he started playing at Morningside

Elementary.

Its a mind game, Gracia said. I like it a lot. I practice about 30 minutes

every day.

Flores said Vela, Oliveira and Perkins middle schools will attend the national

championship in May in Milwaukee.

They are successful because they have a passion for the game, Flores said

about the Vela team. They play, practice and study together. Its a team bond

concept. They look out for each other.