By Cindy Kranz
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Tyler Seidl, 10, a fifth-grade member of the Ruth Moyer Elementary School Chess Club, makes a move on the giant chessboard in the school library in Fort Thomas. Looking on are teammates Alex Turner, 11, (left rear) and Ellen Hempleman, 10. The Cincinnati Enquirer/GARY LANDERS

FORT THOMAS - The giant chess board at Ruth Moyer Elementary here requires a little more heavy lifting than normal, but students can't seem to get enough of it - or the game itself.

The young chess players are preparing for the third annual Queen City Classic Scholastic Chess Tournament on May 1 at Paul Brown Stadium. Last year, the Ruth Moyer Chess Club won first place in the PK-2 division of the tournament, sponsored by the Cris Collinsworth Proscan Foundation and Cincinnati Bengals.In just three years, the Queen City Classic has grown beyond the expectations of organizers. Some 700 K-12 students are expected to attend this year.

"It will be one of the biggest tournaments in the country this year," said Penny Pomeranz, president of the foundation and co-coordinator of the tournament, along with Jory Pomeranz, a 17-year-old Cincinnati Country Day School sophomore. "My goal was to reach 500 in five years, but we did that last year."

IF YOU GO

What: Third annual Queen City Classic Scholastic Chess Tournament. When: May 1. Where: Paul Brown Stadium, downtown. Cost: $20. Friday night simultaneous play free to tournament participants; $15 for nonparticipants. Information: E-mail qccchess@proscan.com or call (513) 965-8343 or (866) 772-4377.

Lukas Turner, now an 8-year-old third-grader, won the sixth-place individual trophy for his division in last year's tournament and is preparing for this year's competition. A classmate taught him to play in kindergarten.

"I just like that it challenges you and can maybe help you get smarter and stuff," Lukas said. "You think more aggressively."

The Queen City Classic is credited with helping to revive chess among local youths. The Ruth Moyer Chess Club, for example, has 56 members in Grades 1-5.The club is just 2 years old.

"The Queen City Classic is so big, that it's caught a lot of attention," said Kim Zimmerman, who coaches the Ruth Moyer Chess Club along with her husband, Bill. "From the Queen City Classic, people have learned where they can go to find a chess game" in Greater Cincinnati.

Chess is contagious, Zimmerman said, because when kids see other kids playing, they want to learn, too. Love of chess also extends to adults.

"Teachers are excited about chess," she said. "There's been many international studies that show if you integrate chess into the curriculum, math and reading scores improve. New Jersey and New York have statewide integrated programs. In New York City, they found it also improves behavior in schools."

In a 1994-97 Texas study, non-honors elementary students who participated in a school chess club showed twice the improvement of non-chess players in reading and mathematics between third and fifth grades on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills.

The benefits of chess, Zimmerman said, include helping kids with judgment, analysis, imagination, creativity, patience, focus, concentration, memory and sportsmanship.

Besides the lure of chess, the Queen City Classic brings chess champions to town.

This year's main attraction is Maurice Ashley, 38, who made history in 1999 when he became the first African-American to attain the coveted title of international grandmaster. He was named 2003 Grandmaster of the Year by the U.S. Chess Federation.

Cheryl Mobarry said chess has been great for her 11-year-old fifth-grade son, Tyler. "It gives him discipline. It teaches him things he can use every day. He told me he has to think before he makes his first move, whether he's in school or playing chess."

E-mail ckranz@enquirer.com