Chess man makes kings out of his kids

Caller-Times ^ | March 22, 2004 | Venessa Santos-Garza

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John DuBois watches victories on the board transform young lives

Much like a knight on the many chessboards that have been distributed in South Texas schools, John DuBois is not a high-profile player. He prefers to hang back, quietly sliding left to right or jumping obstacles to ensure that the mission of the Optimist Coastal Bend Chess Federation is achieved - to help kids stay in school and improve their grades by teaching them an age-old game.

"Chess is different than athletics in that with sports like basketball, for instance, you have only 10 players or so that really get to participate," DuBois said. "Most of the kids we work with will never excel in traditional athletics but in chess if they win three out of five games, they get a medal.

"You have second-graders stumbling along with trophies as big as they are and you can't pry them out of their hands," he said, his eyes beaming with excitement. "It's not unheard of to have a 'C' student walking around with a trophy. Then they take that trophy home or to school and the other children tell them they must be smart and they start thinking they must be smart. Then you start to see math and reading scores go up. It's amazing."

DuBois helped to found the Optimist Coastal Bend Chess Federation in 1997. Since then thousands of children from Ingleside to the Rio Grande Valley have picked up the game.

DuBois has been nominated as part of the 14th annual Caller-Times/KRIS 6 News Jefferson Volunteer Awards, which recognizes community volunteerism.

Nominations are accepted during the year and a community panel each month selects four honorees to be featured in the Caller-Times and KRIS 6 News.

Bob James, past president and senior tournament coordinator for the organization, affectionately refers to DuBois as "The Godfather."

"He has long been the guiding force in our local chess organization and has worked very hard to avoid any kind of recognition," said James, who nominated DuBois for the Jefferson award. "He has put in so much time and effort, and I felt it was time he got some (recognition)."

With his gentle guidance and enthusiastic attitude, DuBois has managed to help secure a handful of scholarships for top ranking players, James said. He has also worked hard to establish relationships with area school districts.

"He's is the type of person who gets up and gets things done," James said.

Contact Venessa Santos-Garza at 886-3752 or santosv@caller.

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George Gongora/Caller-Times

John DuBois watches victories on the board transform young lives.

[TwoBear]

When I was a kid, a middle aged guy that still lived with his mother taught me how to play chess on his front porch. Never will forget it. Have loved the game ever since.

Thank you Stanley Rose!