An Olympic future? A few locals are worth watching
August 1, 2012Title bout headlines wrestling event
August 7, 2012
Ten-year-old Seth Bergeron says his favorite chess tactic is the fork.
A forking piece is one that is in position to claim two of the defender’s pieces at the same time. In a dramatic usage, a fork can occur when a person who wishes to defend a threatened piece moves the forking piece, such as a knight, that simultaneously results in a check and threatens the, well, threatening piece.
“It’s always a trick,” the founder of a Thibodaux chess club says. “You put a rook somewhere, sometimes, to where the queen takes it and you get it right back because (you put your opponent in) check. You can’t (counter) the knight, so sometimes I like doing that, and sometimes when you fork, you threaten the king.”
The tactic requires enough foresight to draw the opponent in while also keeping the forking piece close enough to move in for the save.
“I like how (chess) is a strategic game, how after you learn how to move the pieces, you have to learn what and what not to do, and it also works your mind,” Seth says. “I like to work my mind, not give it a rest.”
Seth has been playing chess for nearly five years. He picked up on it through school – he studies through eLearningK12, where his mom also teaches – and won the school championship, one of several tournaments in which he has competed.
Most recently, Seth participated in a national chess tournament in New Orleans organized by grandmaster and former women’s world champion Susan Polgar. While waiting for his matches, Seth got to know some of the local chess players and learned they practice through organized clubs.
“So I thought, well, Thibodaux doesn’t have a chess club, and I’m sure there’s some people in Thibodaux that know how to play chess and are better than me, so I wanted to bring people in and get together and sometimes have fun,” Seth says.
Roughly 20 people signed in at the club’s first four meetings, Seth’s mom Amy Bergeron Good says. She’s helping out for now, but soon the club will lie solely in Seth’s hands.
“I’m just trying to help him get started,” Good says. “I told him, ‘If you want to do something, you need to get it together.’ … He’s an amazing kid. I’m convinced no matter what kind of route he takes in life, he’s going to end up teaching people.”
Seth has welcomed the responsibility, asking and receiving permission to host the weekly meeting (Thursdays from 5 to 7 p.m.) at The Foundry. When he walks in shortly after 5, Seth immediately starts dragging tables apart from one another and setting up chessboards on top of them. Good does ask that parents line up their own supervision for children attending the club.
Good has taught private piano and voice lessons for 11 years, so once the school year starts, she’ll have her own talent-minded pupils to concern herself with in addition to school curriculum.
She certainly sees value in the club.
“Learning how to play chess itself is one thing, but learning how to win at chess is a whole other level,” she says.
When he’s not playing chess, not-so-sedentary Seth sings, dances, acts (he was Cat in the Hat in Thibodaux Playhouse’s “Seussical Jr.”), practices gymnastics and plays the piano. “I’m about to go to Boy Scouts,” he adds.
Seth takes lessons from national master Mike Papa in Thibodaux. He says the transformation in his chess game has been great. “I’ve learned so much,” he says. “At first, I couldn’t beat my mom. Now, I beat my step-dad, and he’s really good.”
He’s always sure to impart his wisdom on others, as he has with his 6-year-old sister Kate, who leans over a Mario-themed chessboard with her knees in her chair while playing game after game against older competition during a club meeting. She also competed in New Orleans.
Seth, emphasizing personal relationships, is happy to pass along his knowledge to others.
“I say learning from the computer isn’t as good as learning from anybody else,” Seth says. “Nowadays, people are learning from the computer. On the computer, you learn how to play chess. A computer can also teach you tactics, but I still think it’s better to learn with somebody, like instructional talk with them. If you have any problems, you can ask them about it. A computer, not so much.”
His club is open to anyone with any skillset, for free. He’s definitely started gaining attention, he says he hopes the club leads to more people locally playing chess together.
Kshitiz Shrestha, a 22-year-old building manager at Nicholls, is the pending president of a chess club to be launched at the university. He and two students drop by Seth’s club at The Foundry and play one another while Seth offers instruction to an 18-year-old first-timer. Shrestha says he plans to partner with Seth’s club and expand the area’s offering of chess instruction and practice.
“Since he’s small in age, he can focus on the kids’ side,” the Nepal native says. “As a whole, we can include everybody.”
James Fulcher, 24, and Kshitiz Shrestha, 22, play chess while Ebby Ezema, 24, looks on. The young adults plan to start a chess club at Nicholls next year and intend on partnering with the rest of the group pictured here, youth brought together by 10-year-old Seth Bergeron.
Seth Bergeron, 10, and Karsen Angelloz, 9, play a game of chess at Foundry on the Bayou in Thibodaux. Seth started a chess club last month, and roughly 20 people have already showed up to participate. The club meets from 5 to 7 p.m. every Thursday.
