Chess Player Sees the Game as a Way to Help Kids by Willie Openshaw LIVINGSTON, December 11, 2007 – The “Boa Constrictor”, “The Glacier” are just a couple of the names that opponents call Robert Settles, aka “The Chessman”.

The names refer to his style of play, as he advances his pieces on the board very slowly and slowly crushes the life out of his opponents’ games.  Robert is a juvenile probation officer who loves to play chess, but he also sees chess as a way to help kids.  “I really enjoy watching the “light” come on in the mind of the juveniles when they learn how the chess pieces move and then learn how to play a basic game.”  Robert’s wife, Linda, doesn’t mind his chess playing ways. “I know how much my husband loves to play Chess and how he loves to teach others to play the game. I don’t mind loaning him out to help teach others new skills”.   

Robert knows that in juvenile probation, there are a lot of kids who have made some bad choices in life and one of his jobs is to try to help them make better choices.  It doesn’t just apply to kids in probation; Robert spends a lot of his personal time teaching kids the game of chess and often uses chess as an analogy to real life decisions.  “In chess you have to look at the choices of moves that you have.  You have to watch out for traps and pitfalls.  You have to think before you make your decisions.  You have to develop some patience and look at the consequences of your decision.  Playing chess and making decisions in life are very similar”. 

You can find Robert "Chessman" Settles (right) at the McDonald's in the Livingston Wal-Mart on Monday and Wednesday evenings.  

The Chessman also plays in tournaments and sometimes he gets burned by kids.  If we can get kids to think about their choices in life like the choices in chess, there would be a whole lot less kids in trouble.  In chess, one bad move can wreck your game, in the real world, one bad decision can wreck your life.  

“I love to go to Chess Tournaments and see all of the kids that play chess.  The last tournament I played in had a 10 year old grandmaster.  Amazing!!!!  Although I love to win chess games, I really don’t mind having kids win when I play in tournaments.  They are so dedicated to the game and learn so much in a short period of time.  They are the future of chess making it one of the top games to be enjoyed by kids and adults alike”. 

Robert has seen many kids who were basically good kids, but made one bad decision.  According to Robert, many have made it through their bad decision and go on to thinking smarter about their decisions.  Many never come back to the juvenile system.   “We all have made bad decisions in our life and some we could correct easily and others we had to live with the consequences.  Sometimes the consequences can last for years.  So it is very important to me to try to teach kids to think before they act”. 

Sometimes you can find Robert at the McDonald’s in Wal-Mart in Livingston on Monday and Wednesday evenings between 5:30pm and 9pm playing chess.  He welcomes other chess players to join him.  In chess, just because you make a bad decision doesn’t mean the game is over as you can recover and be very successful.  The same applies in life.  Sometimes kids have one bad experience and they feel like their life is over, but you can always recover and be very successful.  As Robert crushes another opponent he laughs and keeps it all in proper perspective.  It’s only a game in chess, but in life, decisions are for real.

Chess is a game for kids and adults.  Unfortunately, many believe they can not develop the skills needed to play chess.  This is simply not true.  It does make me sad that more adults and kids do not learn the game.  It really does not take that long to learn how to play.  I think of all the adults and kids that I could teach to play that do not come forward to learn.  I think of the fun they are missing.  I enjoy teaching the game to others so much that I do it for free. It is a good game to bring families together once they learn how to play. I always encourage possible students to “take a chance”.  You are never too old to learn how to play chess or to improve your chess skills, and along the way if I can keep a kid from making a bad decision in life, we’re both winners no matter who gets checkmated.