Chess set makes big impression
By Ed Colbert Special to The Acorn

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers LARGE SCALE- Left, Ivan Bjel and Ed Colbert match wits on the new large-scale outdoor chess board recently installed at Leisure Village. If you would like to play, the next meeting of the chess club will be at 10:30 a.m. Mon., April 9.

In the last week of January twofoottall European chessmen suddenly appeared on a new, 20-square-foot cement chess court, just east of the Social Hall in Leisure Village.

Some people were startled; others were enthused. But just about everyone noticed the 17by-26-inch-tall figures standing ready for an outdoor game to begin.

Chess originated in China, India or Persia, with the Moors bringing it to Spain in the eighth century. It continues as a vibrant, challenging international game. Some 15,000 chess games were played in one day recently in Mexico City. Youth membership in the U.S. Chess Federation has doubled since the year 2000, and sales of chess sets are increasing steadily.

It has been demonstrated that constant practice of chess aids the memory of some school children, including those with ADD (attention deficit disorder). The Dec., 6, 2006, issue of The Washington Post compared mental exercise to physical. Ten sessions to boost reasoning skills, memory and mental processing speed staved off mental decline in middle age and elderly people in the first definitive study to show that honing mental skills can bolster the mind in the same way that physical exercise protects and strengthens the body.

The idea of outdoor chess surfaced at Leisure Village several months ago. Through the efforts of Ernie Omstedt, Ivan Bjel, Ed Colbert and the Leisure Village administration and with funding by the Village Voice the outdoor chess set was built.

An outdoor chess club is being formed with monthly meetings planned. Lessons and mentoring will be available, but you need not belong to the club to play chess on the outdoor board.

Future plans include games with local schoolchildren and their parents with the hope of encouraging new friendships, learning and goodwill.

The next meeting of the outdoor chess club will be at 10:30 a.m. Mon., April 9 at the chess court.

Call (805) 987-6521 or (805) 482-6528 for more information and watch channel 25 for further details.