Minneapolis, MN

What’s holding Minnesota kids’ attention these days? Surprise, it’s chess.

Published

2 years ago

February 21, 2024

What’s holding Minnesota kids’ attention these days? Surprise, it’s chess.

The volunteers tried to shush the students huddled over chess boards recently in a Minneapolis middle school gym. But the enthusiastic chatter of more than 200 young chess players plotting their moves won out — and that was just fine.

“It’s so fun to see them get into it,” said Janae Krantz-Odendahl, a student engagement program coordinator for Minneapolis Public Schools, which put on the free tournament that has seen participation surge. “The interest has just exploded.”

School chess clubs are popping up and growing across Minnesota at all levels, from elementary through college. Students and their club advisers see the boom as one of the more positive and lasting effects of the pandemic, when kids and teenagers turned to online chess games as a way to pass the time. Around the same period, chess content creators like GothamChess grew popular on YouTube and Twitch by finding funny and engaging ways to teach the game’s strategy. The television show “The Queen’s Gambit,” as well as a 2022 headline-making cheating scandal among chess grandmasters, also helped bring renewed attention to chess.

Another boost could soon be coming: three American grandmasters — including a popular chess YouTuber — are set to compete in April for the top spot to play against the reigning world champion from China. If one of them goes on to win, they will be the first American to take the title since Bobby Fischer claimed it in 1972. Young chess players across Minnesota say they’ll be watching.

“There used to be this stigma that chess was just this nerdy thing,” said Dojin Wells, a seventh grader at Anthony Middle School who played at the recent Minneapolis Public Schools tournament. “I wouldn’t necessarily say chess is cool yet, but it’s definitely gotten cooler.”

The Minnesota State Chess Association has seen the number of players at its events double since 2021, and nearly half of its members are scholastic players, meaning they are K-12 students. Association tournaments that typically drew 150 players are now seeing more than 200, said Scott Carpenter, board member for the association.

Bob Dettmer, the chess team adviser at Eastview High School in Apple Valley, hopes those numbers can continue to rise as more young people see how easy and affordable playing chess can be. It doesn’t require expensive coaching, lessons or equipment like so many other activities.

“Honest to goodness, it is accessible to everyone, and you can’t say that about many things,” he said, adding that the game attracts a diverse group of students.

Lured in by strategy

Simon Vergara, a senior biochemistry major at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, agrees and sees the game as a way to bring people together.

As the founder of a new student club called Chill Chess & Coffee Club, Vergara hopes the trend of playing chess can have staying power. So far, the club has drawn a couple dozen students each week to play casually, and a recent event drew in nearly 30 interested students. Many of them, like him, started playing during the pandemic.

“Before college in 2020, I saw chess as a nerdy, boring game for older people,” he said, adding that he doesn’t remember any of his childhood friends playing chess. “I can now say that I love chess and I don’t feel that stereotype anymore. It’s been a quick change.”

A separate club at the U, called the University of Minnesota Chess Club, has also seen an uptick in interest and said most of the players started playing online in the last couple of years. That club’s president, Samrug Narayanan, said once students realize the game is fun and strategic, it’s a pretty easy sell.

That’s what hooked Seward Montessori fifth-grader Jasper Benson Loesch, who said he enjoys the mental challenge of planning his next move.

“He loves it and it’s done a lot for his concentration,” said his mom, Abby Loesch, while watching him play in the Check it Out tournament. “It’s a really special thing.”

Concentration required

Dettmer, who has coached the Eastview chess team for more than 20 years, calls chess “the antithesis to the iPhone” — though sometimes teachers at the school catch students playing chess on their phones during class. That’s because it forces students to concentrate, to plan ahead and think critically.

“With their phones and TikTok, you see these young people’s attention span being drained away, but you can watch chess build it back up,” he said. “Maybe chess is a fad now but I sure hope it’s a continuing trend.”

Paul Sackaroff, the coach for Osseo Senior High School’s chess club, thinks the game’s popularity will continue to grow.

“I think that the enthusiasm and staying power of chess has already stood the test of time,” he said.

After all, the game is more than 1,500 years old.

And if schools continue to encourage it and make it accessible, he said, “the sky’s the limit.”

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Minneapolis, MN

Truck driver dead after crash sends Metro Transit bus into home in south Minneapolis

Published

8 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Press Room

Truck driver dead after crash sends Metro Transit bus into home in south Minneapolis

It happened early Monday morning in Minneapolis.

One person is dead and another is hospitalized after an early-morning crash in south Minneapolis on Monday that sent a Metro Transit bus into a home.

It happened at around 4 a.m. at 10th Avenue South and East 38th Street, just a few blocks east of George Floyd Square.

A spokesperson for Metro Transit police tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that a truck was speeding down 10th Avenue when it hit the back of the bus, ripping a tire off the bus and sending it into the front of a home.

The driver of that truck died, according to Metro Transit police, while the driver of the bus was taken to a hospital but is expected to be OK.

Officials say nobody besides the driver was on the bus at the time, and the home the bus hit was also empty at the time.

Investigators are still at the scene, working to clean up all of the debris and determine exactly what led up to the crash.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is at the scene and working to learn more. Download the KSTP app and follow 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on social media for the latest updates.

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Minneapolis, MN

Atlanta Dream survive thriller in Minneapolis, edge Lynx 91-90 to open 2026 WNBA season

Published

20 hours ago

May 10, 2026

Press Room

Atlanta Dream survive thriller in Minneapolis, edge Lynx 91-90 to open 2026 WNBA season

The Atlanta Dream trailed by double digits, fought back twice and still needed Angel Reese’s game-saving block in the final seconds to survive.

Atlanta opened the 2026 WNBA season with a 91-90 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday night, powered by Allisha Gray’s 24 points, Te-Hina Paopao’s pull-up jumper with 12 seconds remaining, and a performance that left little doubt about what this team intends to do this season.

Reese’s block on Emese Hof’s layup attempt in the closing seconds sealed one of the most dramatic opening-night wins before 10,821 fans at Target Center.

When Minnesota pushed its advantage to 13 points in the second quarter and the Dream looked like they were in serious trouble, Allisha Gray took over. The veteran guard finished with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-18 shooting, going a near-perfect 9-of-11 from the free throw line to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Gray’s ability to get to the line and convert kept Atlanta within striking distance throughout a game that could have spiraled out of control multiple times. She scored 11 points in the third quarter alone as the Dream chipped away at Minnesota’s lead.

Rhyne Howard was equally important on both ends, finishing with 15 points, five assists and three steals. Jordin Canada ran the offense efficiently with 12 points and six assists, and Paopao added six points and four assists in a composed performance off the bench.

With Atlanta trailing 85-87 and the clock winding down, Naz Hillmon stepped back and drained a 22-foot three-pointer with 2:44 left to tie the game and silence the fans in the Target Center. It was the shot of the night, and arguably the play that won Atlanta the game.

Hillmon finished with 15 points on an efficient 6-of-10 from the field, adding seven rebounds in 33 minutes. She was the Dream’s most reliable scorer off the bench and delivered her best basketball when Atlanta needed it most.

Rookie Madina Okot also impressed in her WNBA debut, scoring eight points on 3-of-6 shooting with four rebounds in just 10 minutes, showing the poise and physicality that earned her a roster spot out of training camp.

Angel Reese’s first game in a Dream uniform was complicated. She shot 4-of-11 from the field, committed five turnovers and picked up a first-quarter technical foul that gifted Minnesota a free point. At one point in the first half, she missed three consecutive shots on the same possession.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – MAY 09: Angel Reese #5 of the Atlanta Dream blocks a shot attempt by Emese Hof #25 of the Minnesota Lynx during the fourth quarter at Target Center on May 09, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.

Ellen Schmidt / Getty Images

But Reese also grabbed 14 rebounds, nine on the offensive glass, blocked three shots, came up with two steals, and made the most important play of the game when it mattered most. Her block on Hof’s layup in the final seconds was the kind of athletic, instinctive play that changes games and defines seasons.

That is the player Atlanta acquired this offseason. On opening night, in the most pressure-packed moment of the game, she showed exactly why.

Minnesota had every opportunity to win this game and couldn’t finish it. Olivia Miles finished with 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting and eight assists to go along with eight free throws made. Kayla McBride scored 20 points and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:11 left that looked like it might be the dagger.

Courtney Williams added 14 points and six assists, and the Lynx shot 50 percent from the field, a number that should have been good enough to win.

But 15 turnovers and an inability to execute in the game’s final minute proved too costly. Minnesota had chances to put Atlanta away in the fourth quarter and couldn’t. The Dream made them pay every time.

Atlanta continues its opening road trip Tuesday against the Dallas Wings before returning home for the May 17 opener against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces at State Farm Arena. Minnesota hosts Atlanta again on May 27.

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