Teen Chess Stars to Take Part in German Match

While most youngsters are celebrating the Fourth of July at picnics and fireworks shows, seven members of the county’s Chess for Juniors Club will be locked in an intense competition.

From July 4 to 14, they will be playing in an international tournament against top players their age at the first USA-German Friendship Chess Match in Hamburg, Germany.

Among those making the trip are 13-year-old Justin Skliar of Brea and 14-year-old Alexander Huff of Irvine, both of whom have won state titles under the stewardship of chess master Robert M. Snyder.

“They’re my cream of the crop,” Snyder said of them and the other tournament participants. “I’ve been working with most of these kids for at least seven years.”

They are among 140 pupils whom Snyder teaches at his Huntington Beach-based Chess for Juniors Club, which he founded in 1983 and is now the nation’s largest chess club for children.

In the past decade, 22 of Snyder’s students have gone on to win first place at the U.S. national championships.

“He’s a good coach,” said Justin Skliar, who has been with Snyder for nearly four years. “He has certain rules, like he won’t allow you to play any other board game or any other version of chess. He takes his chess very seriously.”

Snyder doesn’t limit his teaching to club members. Through the year he travels to elementary and high schools across Southern California to give free assemblies on chess. He also has been teaching a summer youth chess program in San Juan Capistrano since 1988.

“This instructor is very special,” said Linda Evans, community services manager for the city. “The word from his students is that he’s very good.”

Over the years, Snyder estimates, he has introduced chess to at least 120,000 children.

To help those whose families may not be able to afford the $34 fee to join the club, Snyder has set up a nonprofit trust fund in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Club of Placentia.

Snyder also solicits donations to help pay for top students’ trips to national and international events. And he offers free beginner classes for children on Sundays at 6:45 p.m. at his club at 15081 Golden West.

“It’s the most important sport that any child can learn because it focuses on their brain,” Snyder said. “It works so much on the logic, on concentration and abstract thinking skills. These are skills kids need later in life.”

Information: (714) 531-5238.