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Club Has Students Pondering Moves

STAFF photo by Robert Burke / Tampa Tribune.

Josue Gonzalez (8yrs) ponders his next chess move against Daniel de la Cruz (9yrs) during chess club practice at Wimauma Elem School. Principal Roy Moral (middle) has been very supportive of the kids since he played as a child, too. Now he devotes hours with the club who meets after school and helps see they all get home. The two boys were undefeated in their last chess competition. -

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By ELAINE MARKOWITZ Tribune correspondent

Published: January 26, 2008

Updated: 01/24/2008 07:55 pm

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WIMAUMA - Roy Moral, the 36-year-old principal of Wimauma Elementary School, has moved through life hobnobbing with royalty. He is up close and personal with kings, queens, knights and bishops, all miniature nobles who strut across the squares of a chess board.

Royal living was not part of his life otherwise, said the son of a Cuban immigrant father and a Honduran-born mother.

"I knew about hand-me down clothes," he said in his office one recent morning. It was those early struggles that have helped him relate to his students, most of whom are the children of migrant farmworkers.

Moral said his father, Rogelio, first taught him to play chess.

"My dad always had a chess board at home," he said.

"It wasn't competitive," he said of their games together. "It was just a pastime."

That old pastime, long forgotten, has cropped up unexpectedly in Moral's professional life, enabling him to introduce children to the game he loved as a child.

At two schools, Moral has used chess to teach children that they can achieve and compete. More than that - he has taught them they can be winners.

Chess resurfaced in Moral's life in 2005, the year he became assistant principal at Palm River Elementary in Tampa.

That old love was sparked anew by three individuals at the school; two teachers, Elizabeth and Dave Denny, and the head custodian, Ignacio Barrera.

"All three had played chess and had experience in tournaments," Moral said. "They started talking about incorporating chess as an after-school activity."

The four of them started a team called the Palm River Knights.

"We found the kids were starved for something positive to be a part of," he said.

The chess team appeared to fill the bill.

At first, Moral had no interest in tournaments. Most of the children had not seen a chess board.

"I just wanted something for fun," he said.

Soon after, he heard of the West Florida Regional tournament slated at Mendenhall Elementary in Tampa and changed his mind. Lessons intensified.

After only two months of playing, the young gamesters competed and finished fourth in their age group.

A fire had sparked.

"They wanted a first-place trophy and worked hard for it," Moral said.

In a subsequent tournament, the team took first place.

"There was no stopping them after that," he said.

The Knights moved on to the national level and ranked 14th out of 60 teams from across the country at a 2006 competition in Orlando.

"There was tough competition, and they realized that even on the national stage they were competitive," Moral said.

Moral was promoted to principal of Wimauma Elementary School in March. Once again, chess sprang up from an unexpected corner.

A math teacher, Andrew Lack, was teaching chess moves to first-graders as part of their lessons.

"When I saw that," Moral said, "I knew there was no way we weren't going to start a chess team."

The Wimauma Wildcat Chess Club was born two weeks later.

Students from kindergarten through fifth grade slowly found their way to the club. To accommodate available volunteers, Moral soon had to limit membership to 40 players.

Five instructors teach chess strategies, and other volunteers transport the children home after practice.

In the first month, seven of the best players competed in a tournament at the Brandon public library.

The games had begun.

In November, each of three age groups earned either first, third or fourth place.

Young aficionados, such as Araceli Fermin, radiate enthusiasm for their new hobby.

"I wanted to learn," said the 10-year-old. "It's fun playing."

Fermin, who recently tied for second place in an individual competition, persuaded her friend Natalie de Pilar, 9, to join the club as well.

The latest wins occurred Jan. 12 at the St. Petersburg Chess Club. Two second-graders, Josue Gonzalez and Daniel de la Cruz, were undefeated with nearly perfect scores.

Moral said donations are needed to enable students to attend tournaments.

Three major sponsors have been the Community Foundation of Greater Sun City Center, the Hillsborough Education Foundation and the Ruskin Junior Woman's Club.

The Redlands Christian Migrant Association has offered its buses to help with transportation.

More sponsors are needed.

In the meantime, Moral and his team push onward, hoping for more wins.

"Chess teaches kids if you work hard enough and want something bad enough, you can accomplish anything," Moral said.

For information or to make donations, call (813) 671-5159.

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