Liam McBride, 9, counts the pieces won by his opponent during a game in chess club at Lava Ridge Elementary School in Bend Tuesday afternoon. (Andy Tullis / The Bulletin)

On Tuesday afternoons at Lava Ridge Elementary, the distant roar of students from the back of the school can be traced to a mass of nearly 60 kids glued in pairs to computers.

What may at first glance appear like oddly enthusiastic cooperation is actually competition. The students are part of the school’s month-old chess club, conceived by a pair of fourth-graders, Ty Pierce and Grayson Stein. At the club’s fourth meeting this Tuesday, more than 50 students played on computers and a few boards as teachers and parent volunteers looked on, helping the younger kids and allowing the more experienced players to manage their own bouts.

“It gets pretty epic out here with the older players,” Ty said. “A lot of people at my school like to play, but it grew when friends of friends got involved. It sort of spread like a rumor.”

Jason Kingrey, Ty and Grayson’s teacher, is the club’s sponsor, a self-declared “average, not great, player.”

“I anticipated 10, maybe 20 students would come, but it started with 40 and has grown to 80 registered,” Kingrey said. “The goal is to get kids to try something different and promote critical thinking, which is what we try to teach in the classroom anyway. I’m really surprised that about half are first- and second-graders.”

The strategy aspect of chess, masquerading as combat in the eyes of 10-year-olds, seems to be the big draw for many of the students.

“It’s fun because it’s like a battle and you’re trying to win a battle,” Grayson said.

Ty tends to take a more defensive approach to his matches, staggering his pawns to “create a whole wall of an army.” He said he hasn’t yet learned how to castle — a special move that allows the king to jump a rook into the corner — but he hopes to soon. Grayson is more offensive, preferring to free up his queen early. Ty estimates the two are about evenly matched, though he concedes his friend has more experience. Kingrey readily admits both students are able to beat him.

“There are competitions in the area, and who knows, maybe someday we’ll get to one of those. But that’s not really the goal,” Kingrey said.

A parent volunteer with two kids involved, Hal Beumel, said his family “jumped at the opportunity to join the club.”

“I think it helps with brain development. You have to look forward and see moves in advance, but you also have to keep an eye on what the other person is doing,” he said. “There’s a social element, too — way better than just sitting on a couch staring into a TV.”

Kingrey laments the fact that most of his students “don’t get to hold the pieces or set the board” and is looking for donations of sets. However, he did note, “at least we don’t have to look for missing pieces every day.”

— Reporter: 541-633-2160,

tleeds@bendbulletin.com