Chess Club

There is a myth about people who play chess.It goes something like this: They are male. They are geeks who wears glasses. And they must be geniuses to master the game."

Central Library 10375 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. 410-313-7800. •All Together Now. Saturdays, 10:15 and 11:30 a.m. All ages; 30 minutes. •Chess Club. June 3, 1 p.m. •Eclectic Evenings. Second Tuesdays, 7 p.m. •English Conversation Club. Mondays, 10 a.m.; and Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. Practice speaking and understanding English in a group setting. Register before attending. •Great Reads For Vacay and Staycay. June 5, 7 p.m. Kick off the adult summer reading club.

Julie Wilde, a young-adult librarian last year at the east Columbia branch, needed something to occupy neighborhood children who came in to pass the time. She tried board games -- Yahtzee, Life, Scrabble and others -- but looked for something more. As luck would have it, Scott Doughty, a longtime chess player, worked in the library's circulation department. He offered to start a chess club, and recruited his friend Battsetseg Tsaagan to help. Tsaagan, who is from Mongolia, is a women's international chess master.

Train garden The annual Holiday Festival of Trains is on display through Jan. 29 at the B&O Railroad Museum, 2711 Maryland Ave. The exhibit features custom-built model train layouts. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays (closed Jan. 1). Admission is $5, $4 for seniors 60 and older, $3 for children 2-12, free for B&O members. Information: 410-461-1945. Around town Exercise program A stroke exercise program will be held from 10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the Ellicott City Senior Center, 9401 Frederick Road.

PAIRS OF CHESS players focus on their games while families chatter, a midshipman studies, children explore new books and friends sip coffee and enjoy light conversation. This is the scene every Tuesday evening at the Barnes and Noble bookstore cafe at Annapolis Harbour Center when members of the Annapolis Chess Club meet to challenge each other and interested passers-by to the game. A group of a half-dozen regulars was joined recently by Grant Miller, a recent graduate of West Virginia University now living in Arnold, who happened upon the group when he stopped in for a cup of coffee.

A 15-year-old from Potomac defeated a legendary Maryland chess champion yesterday in a challenge match sponsored by the Chess Club at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.Ray Kaufman won a $100 prize by defeating William Morrison, 37, in a match at the UMBC Engineering and Computer Science building.Kaufman, a student at Wootton High School in Potomac, was awarded a full scholarship to UMBC in March when he won the state scholastic chess championship for high school students.Morrison, known as "the Exterminator," is a UMBC graduate and a self-taught chess legend from New York.

The student: Matthew Jolles, 10 School: Waverly Elementary School Special achievement: Won first place in the Susquehanna Scholastic Chess Tournament in the K-5 division by winning all five of his matches. The tournament was held in Havre de Grace in November. He is a member of Waverly's 42-member chess club. How did he learn to play? "My dad taught me and then I entered the UMBC Chess Club." He went on to take lessons from the UMBC team's top players and was soon able to teach his 5-year-old brother the game.

The 10 children sitting lotus position in a small room at Cherry Hill elementary school know they are learning much more than a game.Coach: "Is this a game for light-headed, irresponsible people?"Students: "No!"Coach: "What type of people play this game?"Students: "Disciplined people play this game!"Coach: "How long has this game been around?"Students: "Been since the Middle Ages."Coach: "Speak clearly and in complete sentences."Students: "This is a game that has been played since the Middle Ages."

Garry Kasparov's game has kept him atop the chess world for 13 years. But recently, with a challenge looming from another highly regarded Russian, he felt some serious practice was in order.He turned to an avenue where he could work on his game anonymously but face a level of competition that would help sharpen him up.Kasparov logged on to the Internet.There, on a Web site known as ``The Internet Chess Club'' at www.chessclub.com, the world champion - playing under the user name Dahlia - found an opponent who more than measured up. ``This guy is no ordinary grand master,'' Kasparov's friend, Shay Bushinsky, recalls Kasparov saying.

Tell Jacki Rone that chess is a man's game, and she'll point out a thing or two."One year we had two girls from my school win championships," said Ms. Rone, who supervises the chess club at Calloway Middle School. "They beat those boys soundly."Yesterday, the girls didn't administer a sound whipping, but they made their presence known at the city public schools' annual chess tournament.The tournament, held at the United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. headquarters in Mount Washington, drew 25 girls -- the most ever -- among 120 participants.

Recently the Laurel Board of Trade hosted a meet-and-greet session with the candidates for city of Laurel. During that meeting Council President Mike Leszcz who is running for candidate-at-large defended the mayor and city of Laurel Council's position for nonsupport of the Laurel Boys and Girls Club by stating that the club needs to conduct independent audits and additionally the mayor and city of Laurel Council is concerned about where the more than...

It's 3 o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, and two classrooms at the end of a long hallway at Linton Springs Elementary are crawling with kids. They've snatched up chessboards from a mountainous stack on a table. They've paired off in tournament matchups. And fourth- and fifth-graders are splayed out across desktops and every usable spot of carpet, plotting their next moves and eyeing their opponents' kings in the quest for checkmate. Teachers who helped chaperone the children last year are nowhere to be found.

The Norbel School in Elkridge will offer a Power Camp for children with learning challenges from June 23 through Aug. 1. The camp, which is to feature the school's interpersonal social skills development program, is open to children ages 6-12. Art, sports and music activities are also planned. Tutoring and before- and after-camp care are available. Information: Krys Renzi, 410-796-6700 or krenzi@norbelschool.org. Bag sale planned for July and August The Trinity Church Gift & Thrift Shoppe, 6010 Waterloo Road, at Pfeiffer's Corner, behind St. John's Lutheran Church in Elkridge, will hold a bag sale in July and August.