And 45 Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) students at Lenihan Intermediate School might have started journeys toward mastering one of the world’s most popular games.

Lenihan Principal Kyle Young said the chess club is open to all students each quarter, but it’s on a first-come, first-serve basis as there is limited capacity.

“We run each group (for) around six weeks and will start up another session in the fourth quarter,” he said.

Young said they are excited to see so much enthusiasm for the chess club this year.

Lenihan students learn more about chess during the after school chess club every week. A chess festival is planned for the upcoming spring during which students from other Marshalltown Community School District buildings will participate.

“We’re always looking for ways to get students involved in extracurricular activities,” he said. “This is a fun way to get students to learn something new, use critical thinking skills and engage with other students.”

Held in the library every week, the budding chess masters are now waiting for the upcoming chess festival to showcase their skills. When the club begins, students can play online or in person.

“The online (game) helps get a baseline for the students, and allows them to play competitive games with others at their skill level,” Young said. “Once they do that, they’re able to partner up with kids at approximately their same level but they all seem to want to challenge themselves with harder competition.”

Cue in Isaac Young, the principal’s son, who is a senior at Marshalltown High School. Isaac takes time from his day to sit with the students, help them learn how to navigate the complex game and play some matches with them. According to Young, the students like to take on the challenge of playing against Isaac, who does not take it easy on them.

Isaac, 17, was in the chess club at MHS, and an XLP teacher asked if he would be willing to help teach students at one of the elementary schools. Eventually, he branched out to Lenihan since it fit with his schedule.

“I started playing chess when I was 12,” he said. “I just really enjoyed the game. It was more strategic than card games with luck. It was nice because you could practice and make yourself better. With a lot of other games, it’s luck of the draw.”

Sixth grade teacher Maria Whitaker supervises the chess club and said it’s a great opportunity for students to spend social time with others, develop skills they might not get to develop during the school day and show some strengths.

“We have a student that can solve Rubik’s cubes,” she said. “He comes in and plays, and solves Rubik’s cubes while he’s waiting for his next turn. I think he has a very mathematical mind. He might not have as much time to do that when he’s practicing drills or basic facts.”

There was a mixture of the amount of chess knowledge and experience amongst the participants. Whitaker said some were exposed for the first time at Lenihan and others began learning in third grade.

“It’s nice because the ones with more knowledge and skill are teaching the less-experienced players,” she said.

According to Isaac, the students benefit socially by engaging in an in-person board game.

“Chess is a long game, and you can start a conversation,” he said. “It also helps develop them mentally. Chess is such a complex game and you can do it throughout your life and constantly see progress. It’s really rewarding when you can beat someone you haven’t been able to beat before.”

It is definitely something the students seem to enjoy, as Whitaker said many of them plan on returning for the festival. In that event, she said students from other MCSD schools will come together to play chess, and it will sort of serve as a tournament.

In addition to chess, Lenihan students had the option to participate in bowling or Pokemon Club. Young said they are also looking into providing additional opportunities for students to showcase their skills later this year.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.