LA FERIA — Moises Ruiz was flipping through the TV channels at home when his son Drake challenged him to a game of chess.
Moises, 36, turned his attention away from the tube, and gave his son a blank stare for a moment.
Then he asked his 8-year-old, “are you sure you don’t want to play football or practice mixed martial arts outside?”
Moises had never played chess before, and he never thought about teaching his son to play the “royal game.”
Drake was looking for practice to prepare for his first chess tournament.
“He placed second in his first tournament,” Moises said. “My son learned the right way to play chess.”
Parents throughout the school district are attributing their child’s success in chess to district Chess Advisor Russell Harwood’s efforts.
“He’s not just a special chess teacher, he’s a special teacher,” said Kim Ruiz, about her son’s chess coach. “He’s helping our kids keep up with the best at the national level in chess.”
Harwood has directed chess programs at Brownsville ISD and the University of Texas at Brownsville. His teaching has been showcased on national and international news for launching each program into the chess world.
Harwood has been chipping away at his program in La Feria since he was hired at the district three years ago.
“He got us to that level,” said Kim Ruiz.
She said there are not many of the kids graduating and going to play professional football or basketball. But now she sees chess as a way to gain a scholarship admission to college. Her son Drake went on to place in the top 20 at the state tournament last month and five of his teammates finished in the top 10.
Chess in the La Feria district has become something of a phenomenon with the Sam Houston first grade team qualifying to the national Elementary Chess Tournament in Nashville in May.
“The kids did amazingly well,” Harwood said about their tournament play. “Our regional tournament is the largest in the nation.”
Sam Houston placed second out of 39 teams in the regional qualifier held in Corpus Christi.
The following week the Sam Houston team placed third in a pool of 28 teams that competed at the state tourney in Edinburg last month.
For the better part of two years more than 100 students across the district have been meeting with Harwood in the mornings before school to participate in the chess club.
“We are very excited about the district’s chess program, the district’s coaches and the parents who are helping the students,” said Kathy Hernandez, La Feria ISD superintendent. “We are very happy for those students who are going to nationals.”