ROCKWELL — Susan Herrington figures if she can get 34 elementary school children to stay after school, foregoing the outdoors and television, she’s doing something right.

One afternoon recently, they huddled in pairs and singly in the cafeteria at Rockwell Elementary School and pitted their wits and their pawns.

It was the year-end tournament for the school’s Chess Club, and students’ faces wrinkled in concentration and expectation of their opponent’s next move.

“I told you he was going to do that,” one student told his partner.

“You won’t let us kill you,” another young chess master complained.

As the club finishes its second year, Herrington figures everybody won. Consider that many of the children returned for the second year and have gained that much more skill.

There’s so much interest that Herrington has scheduled several nights this summer when “we play chess in the Rockwell Public Library.”

“We played four or five times last summer” and averaged 12 to 16 players, she said. The sessions generally last from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and adults are also welcome.

The dates will be posted on the library bulletin board.

Also, a second club is organizing at China Grove Elementary. Herrington offered advice and tips on getting grant money to Gail Foltz, who teaches the Academically Intellectually Gifted (AIG) program at China Grove.

All this excitement began in the fall of 1999 after Herrington’s son, Neil, learned the game. “I wanted him to have someone to play with. He attended Sacred Heart Catholic School in the third grade but transferred back to Rockwell in the fourth grade.”

Using a grant from the N.C. Association for the Gifted and Talented, she bought playing sets and books for learning about chess.

The children spent the first year learning the game, but Herrington can see a real difference in the children who returned this year. (She also got another grant to keep the program going.)

And she credits Charles Hoffmire, a Salisbury chess enthusiast who has played competitively, with helping taking the experienced players to a higher level.

Since Christmas, the club has been meeting every Wednesday afternoon from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Herrington said she’s had 95 percent attendance among the 34 members.

Hoffmire, director of development for Lutheran Services for the Aging, helped the children develop an optional rating system, allowing them the chance to play for rank within different classes, just like adult chess players.

Or they could just play for fun.

“Chess comes close to a truly level playing field,” Hoffmire said. “Most endeavors involve an element of luck, but chess relies on mental discipline and concentration. For that reason, it is an excellent exercise for everyone and especially for young people.”

Twenty-two children chose to play for rank in four classes: third, fourth and fifth grades and open.

Hoffmire helped the students by watching them play and then taking time to explain strategy and possible moves during the games. Hoffmire also got the students to write down all the moves and use a time clock.

“I am impressed with the level of commitment by the students and Mrs. Herrington,” Hoffmire said. “I am sure that the success of the Chess Club at Rockwell is totally the work of Susan Herrington, and I congratulate her on what she’s been able to offer students at the school.”

The students played each other in a tournament that took the last three weeks. In a final gathering, they also played three adults — one adult playing six games at the same time.

For motivation, Herrington awarded a trophy and $10 to the top student in each grade, $7 for second place and $5 for third place.

The winner of the open class — the toughest — got a trophy and $20. Second place got $15 and third pocketed $10.

“We were trying to make children take risks,” she explained.

Winners were:

• Open division: Neil Herrington, first; Ryan Hill, second; and Chris Furr, third.
• Fifth-grade division: Ryne Jordan, first; Jeff Lear, second; and Bryce Corbett, third.
• Fourth-grade division: Ben DeCelle, first; Eric Slingerland, second; and Samara Ahmed and Matthew Slingerland, tie for third after several draws.
• Third-grade division: Barrett Stehr, first; Hunter Bell, second; and Brandon Rogers, third.

Herrington singled out three fathers for their help: Rick Morgan, father of Travis Morgan, now a sixth-grader at Erwin Middle School; Rocky Corbett, father of fifth-grader Bryce Corbett; and Michael Slingerland, father of twin fourth-graders Matthew and Eric.

“It was a fun time, and we expect to start up again next year,” Herrington said. “The children have advanced their knowledge quite rapidly.

“It’s been a great success. I owe the success to the volunteers and to the parents. They made sure their children came and stayed.”

Herrington said she’s always looking for more volunteer chess enthusiasts and said Foltz, at China Grove Elementary, will need them also.

You can call Herrington at Rockwell Elementary at 704-279-3145.

Contact Frank DeLoache at 704-797-4245 or fdeloache@salisburypost.com .