"I quit for 55 years," Chapman says. "I started playing again two years ago to keep my mind active and save myself from Alzheimer's."

After playing in an adult chess club for several months, Chapman and co-instructor Tony Pabon decided to help keep young minds limber by starting the Kids Chess Club.

"It's a thinking man's game, but anyone can learn," Chapman says. "It doesn't take brilliance."

Learning the game does take patience.

"Sometimes it takes awhile to learn the moves and how not to leave your pieces hanging," Chapman says. "You have to learn not to put your queen in front of a pawn."

"You teach them basic principles," says Pabon, a member of the U.S. Chess Federation who also gives private lessons. "Ninety percent of the game is tactics."

Pranshu Mishra, 9, has been taking lessons from Pabon for two years and plays regularly with the chess club.

"He finds it challenging to find new moves and new ways to beat his opponent," says Pranshu's father, Anurag Mishra. "It helps him build concentration and focus. You have to come up with a plan and be able to respond to your opponent's move accordingly. It makes you a fast decision-maker."

Originally held on the former Blackford High School campus, club meetings moved to the senior center in June. The club boasts a membership of about 45 K-12 students. It's run as a nonprofit organization, with Pabon as its executive director.

A typical chess club meeting starts out with instruction, then moves on to tournament play. Players start at the bottom rung of the tournament "ladder," moving up with each win.

Pabon says playing the game is the best way for children to learn.

"Some instructors have kids memorize the rules, and it doesn't do any good," he adds. "My kids will beat them every time. They're going to learn by using examples from the world's best players."

Before Pranshu started taking lessons from Pabon two years ago, he and his father used to play chess fairly often.

"He's learned so much that he can beat me anytime," Mishra says.

Once Chapman teaches the young players how each piece moves and how it ranks against other pieces, Pabon instructs them on strategy, teaching them openings and end games.

"You have to teach them certain combinations and patterns," Pabon says.

Chapman says he gets a kick out of watching club members improve their skills.

"It's a real thrill to look at the kids and see them smile when they've played a good game," he says.

Mishra says his son enjoys socializing with his friends at the club as much as he likes beating his opponents at chess.

"He doesn't want to miss even one Friday," Mishra says.

The Kids Chess Club meets Fridays at 6:30pm at the Willows Senior Center, 2175 Lincoln Ave. Classes cost $75 for three months. For more information, call 408.293.5895.