Normally, Alex Cespedes’ classroom is filled with fourth and fifth graders learning science and social studies. But on Thursdays, after classes let out, students at McMahon Elementary School in Holyoke, Massachusetts, pour into the room for a different reason: to do battle.

“That’s actually a very good move,” Rodman Parvin, who co-facilitates the after-school club the kids are all excited about, explained to two students on an afternoon in early May. “Because now it’s check again. And it’s a double attack.”

This is the Cheetah Chess Club, which Cespedes and Parvin started earlier this year. Despite the spring weather coaxing students outdoors, 16 kids showed up that day to push pawns, rooks, knights, bishops, queens and kings around the board. For some players, like Nicole Davis, chess is new. She and fellow fifth grader Tae’la Feliciano are moving pieces across the board, not worried too much about the rules. Others have been playing longer, like fifth grader JJ Rodriguez. He can confidently explain why he plays the Dutch Defense with the black pieces.

“The rook, bishop and knight are all lined up on the inside,” he said. “Because they are the stronger pieces.”

‘Like a virus right now’

In recent years, there has been an upswell in worldwide interest in chess. For example, the website Chess.com’s servers repeatedly crashed last year under the weight of millions of new players gravitating to the game. It’s a trend that started in 2020 with COVID lockdowns and the hit Netflix show “The Queen’s Gambit,” and has continued as chess influencers get big on social media.

And that global “chess boom” has sent shockwaves through western Massachusetts, too, including at McMahon Elementary.

“It’s kind of like a virus right now,” Cespedes said, who sees students playing everywhere in school now. “If there’s any still or free time, they’re like, ‘Can I have the chess set? I will protect it with my life. I just want to play chess with my friends.’ And beat all the teachers. That’s what they really want to do.”

Chess clubs in local libraries and other schools have grown in size, too. Sophie Argetsinger is the parent of a second grader at Northampton’s Lander-Grinspoon Academy. She grew up in the vibrant chess scene in Rochester, New York. So when Lander-Grinspoon approached her last year about running a chess club at the school, she was excited.

“The first time I held it there was like 20 kids who signed up, which is crazy because there’s only about 60 kids at the school in total,” she said.

Those numbers have shrunk a bit. But Argetsinger has organized two tournaments at the school in the past year and more students than she expected — from around the region — turned up to play.

“That might have a lot to do with the online presence,” she said of the game’s growing popularity locally. “There’s a lot of chess creators now that are making chess kind of cool and something everyone can engage with.”

‘They thought it was a nerdy thing’

Ed Kostreba has been organizing chess tournaments in the region for around a quarter century. He directs the Western Massachusetts Chess Association, which last year had 308 people play in its tournaments. That’s more than any year since 1996, the year the world’s media focused its attention on Russian grandmaster Gary Kasparov as he beat the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue — a quaint notion nowadays, when computers are much stronger players than humans.

Kostreba said, back then, the association used to hold around six tournaments a year. That number has now doubled. He is hoping for even more growth in the coming years. However, he and others say there are challenges to keeping chess thriving locally.

“It’s tough because you have to get venues that are reasonable,” Kostreba said. “I’m working on a tournament where we collect entry fees, and paying back 80% as prizes. So that’s tough to do, and at some places the rents have gone way up and we can’t do it.”

On a recent afternoon, Kostreba was playing chess at the Friends of the Homeless shelter in Springfield, where he volunteers weekly

Sitting across the board from Kostreba was Jay Williams, who has been playing chess for 25 years. He originally learned the game in the correctional system and says he has seen more people playing in recent years — and a more diverse group of players, too.

“A lot of people are definitely interested in chess,” Williams said between moves. “I would say when I was young in junior high school, people wasn’t really all that. They thought it was a nerdy thing. But now I would say it’s a cool thing now.”

Fierce competition

The chess boom has also hit home — for me. After decades away from the game, I found myself returning to it during the pandemic. And somebody else in my family took notice: my 6-year-old daughter, Sasha. She kept seeing me playing on my phone and computer and soon insisted I teach her.

If I had guessed, I would have said she fell in love with chess because of the game’s beauty. The stunning tactics and complicated dance between pieces. But when I asked her, it was much more simple.

“Winning against Daddy,” she said with a big laugh. “The guy who always losed against me.”

This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. It was originally published by New England Public Media. 

By Sharon Oliver, Contributing Writer

REGION – The people of Massachusetts are serious about their ice cream. From chasing down ice cream trucks as a kid to licking the wooden spoon of a Hoodsie cup to trying their first gelato, cooling off with a frozen treat has long been a summer ritual. For some, it is a year-long love affair.

July is National Ice Cream Month, and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) has teamed up with nearly 100 state dairy farms in an effort to introduce visitors to various ice cream stands that source local dairy for their delectable desserts.

Encouraging travel and tourism

Phu Mai, director of communications for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, told MassLive, “This project will not only promote the consumption of Massachusetts dairy and encourage visitors to discover new dairy farms and local ice cream stands, but it will also support travel and tourism and celebrate the hard-working cows and farmers of the Massachusetts dairy industry, support travel and tourism, and excite ice cream enthusiasts everywhere.”

These farms supply the state with money and milk that helps produce millions of pounds of butter, cheese, ice cream and yogurt. There will be a digital and print map available listing participating dairy farms and ice cream parlors featuring some very dope flavors. Historically, the Bay State has not been afraid of featuring some interesting tastes. For example, located in the western part of the state, in the town of Hadley is a fifth-generation family-owned business called Flayvors of Cook Farm. Asparagus ice cream may sound like a joke, but customers have been coming to Flayvors for 20 years for their “Hadley Grass,” a green seasonal concoction made with fresh spears that is often topped with a caramel sauce.

Steve’s was an early pioneer

As for the die-hard lovers of ice cream, many can recall lining up around and down the block from Steve’s Ice Cream shop in Somerville for a nice hefty scoop. Perhaps lining up is an understatement. Surround and converge upon may be more like it. Established in 1973, owner Steve Herrell’s pioneering business concept of cookie and candy mix-ins inspired chains like Ben & Jerry’s and Cold Stone Creamery, and products like Dairy Queen’s Blizzard and Wendy’s Twisted Frosty. MSNBC’s travel/leisure journalist Tom Austin credits Herrell with creating “modern gourmet ice cream.”

Steve’s Ice Cream, along with a few other local shops made lasting impressions evident by the following comments on Facebook.

Lawrence Lavigne:

“Kinda interesting to think about all the regional ice cream names that made it big…Ben & Jerry’s, Steve’s, Herrell’s, Brigham’s, Friendly…And now JP Licks. New England sure does love a sundae.”

Allen Lomax:

“Awe, I remember Steve’s Ice Cream. They even opened a store in Washington, D.C. Sad it’s gone like Bailey’s Ice Cream and Brigham’s.”

Christina Coleman:

“I remember waiting in line for over an hour just to get to the front door! Delicious ice cream.”

Don Burchelt:

“I was often in that line, with my late wife. Once you got in the door, the line continued all the way around the inside wall. The ice cream freezer was in the window, working continuously.”

The state is a hotbed for serving up delicious satisfaction for some cold cravings. Toscanini’s would be another firm yes, as far as local favorites go. The busy ice cream parlor and café won the Best of Boston award for best ice cream in 1997, 2009, and 2010.

Massachusetts has about 95 dairy farms that contribute about $61 million to the state’s economy. The ice cream trail is one of many trail projects the state offers but this one is sure to please all those ice cream enthusiasts with a very discerning sweet tooth. Stay tuned this month for more details about the ice cream trail.

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A Massachusetts man has made his family very happy after hitting big money on a scratch ticket.

According to the Massachusetts State Lottery, Frederico Sampaio of Peabody is the winner of the fourth and final $1 million prize in the Massachusetts State Lottery’s “Double Your Money” $5 instant ticket game.

Sampaio opted to receive his prize in the form of a one-time payment of $650,000 (before taxes). He plans on putting the winnings towards his family.

The new winner scratched the ticket and went right to work.

His winning ticket was purchased at RX3 Energy located at 94 Bridge St. in Salem. The store will receive a $10,000 bonus for its sale of this ticket