ALL THE RIGHT MOVES CHESS CLUB FOR KIDS A HOTBED OF LEARNING, FUN.

Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Watching more than 30 young children playing chess, a chess-challenged visitor to the California Youth Chess League headquarters commented Thursday that if the 6-year-olds could do it, so could she.

Jay Stallings, founder of the nonprofit organization that teaches chess to local schoolchildren, didn't let the smug assumption slide.

``Actually, kids are much better. I stopped teaching adults,'' said Stallings, who abandoned a career in corporate America to bring the game his father taught him to his community's youngest citizens.

``I can handle a room full of screaming kids. Adults, our minds are already set, whereas kids are like sponges.''

When Stallings and his team of coaches are not leading after-school chess programs, they are likely at the Vista Village Shopping Center on Tournament Road, at the CYCL training center.

With chessboards resting atop a long line of tables, the center becomes a hotbed of activity on Thursday evenings - a kind of open house where young players can challenge each other to a match or simply hang out, unlike the more formal courses offered on Monday and Friday nights.

Lance Kong quietly read a magazine while his 10-year-old son, Timothy, concentrated on the board a few tables away.

``I taught him to play when he was in first grade,'' Kong said. ``My father taught me. I taught him at home, but one thing about the chess club is that he learns how to lose. Before chess club, I had to start losing - he would get very frustrated. But now I play him full on.''

Echoing Stallings' claim, Kong insisted that the thinking-man's game of chess builds self-esteem in children and teaches them to be patient.

While Timothy, a fifth-grader, was more interested in the competition of the game than in answering questions, he took a break to explain why he is drawn to chess.

``I like it because I get to play with people,'' he said, stating his preference of chess over a video game. ``I can beat my dad at video games, but I'm going to beat him at chess. One time.''

Stallings, the son of the 1963 Florida state chess champion, said his first few years playing the game were at home. But when he started playing in tournaments and in clubs starting at 8, he realized he was quite good.

``I only played at home. My dad beat me every time,'' he said. ``It was a shock when I finally played someone else and beat them.''

In 1994 he decided to quit his job selling computers internationally and focus on opening that door of self-esteem and logic to children.

Through corporate and private donations and grants, Stallings and his team of coaches - most are college students - the CYCL instructs as many as 1,000 kindergarten through sixth-grade children each semester.

Saugus resident Cindy Guthrie has three sons, ages 9, 7 and 6, who come to the center at least once a week to play chess, an activity she encourages because playing only against each other can cause some mini-battles for the brothers at home.

``Yes, they like to play at home, to my chagrin,'' she said, laughing. ``I sometimes have to referee. They can get kind of sore at each other. But they like the competition. They definitely like playing other kids though. It gives them a chance to see different skill levels.''

While Guthrie played as a child, another parent, Chan Reader, said he learned the rules after his 8-year-old son started playing in first grade.

Little Sean brought home a flier in kindergarten about the CYCL, but he told his dad he wasn't interested. When he brought the flier home a year later, he had changed his tune.

``He's got football, Cub Scouts, basketball,'' Reader said. ``But there's a social aspect to chess. Just look at them; some are playing intensely, others are hanging out and laughing. It's something that really interests him.''

Sean, who just started fourth grade, now plays in tournaments and occasionally challenges - and beats - adults.

``I usually play with the chess club,'' Sean said. ``But I like to beat the adults because they're older and they've had more time to learn and play the game. They don't really say anything. They pretty much just say good job.''

CAPTION(S):

7 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Seven-year-old Brandon Quintero, center left, reacts after beating his opponent in a match at the Youth Chess Club in Valencia.

(2 -- color) Against a painted backdrop of a chess club mural, Matthew Meyer, 9, makes his move at the Youth Chess Club in Valencia.

(3) Tommy Bailon, 8, reacts to making a bad move during a game at the Youth Chess Club in Valencia.

(4) Allen Lorenaza, 7, keeps himself refreshed as he plays a game at the Youth Chess Club, where the atmosphere is much louder and more boisterous than one might expect.

(5) Nearly every seat in the house is taken at the Youth Chess Club in Valencia, as club operator Jay Stallings walks among the players.

(6 -- 7) Five-year-old Hunter Bandorf plans his next move at the Youth Chess Club in Valencia. The club instructs as many as 1,000 kindergarten through sixth-grade children each semester how to play the game of kings. Sodas and snacks, like the pretzels at left, are prevalent at the club.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer