Photos and Story by CATHERINE STACHOWIAK
The Kern River Valley Branch Library invites people to join their new Chess Program, which Joe Wagner started, back in February, Tuesdays from 4:30 to 5:30 pm.
He told the Kern Valley Sun, Tuesday March 5, “It was something that I thought was lacking in the community. And because of Measure K, through local libraries, it gave us more funding for more programs. And this was a program that I wanted to offer to the community.”
Wagner plays chess on a daily basis. He said, “I played chess as a kid. There was a chess club in my elementary school, which was Kernville Elementary. And I put it down for a long time because it wasn’t offered here. And then I started playing again maybe three years ago. And I try to keep it on a daily basis.”
The young man learned basic, how-to-play moves, at Kernville Elementary School. In recent years Wagner learned advanced book moves such as castling and pawn-piece- overtaking in more advanced ways.
Wagner said, “Chess is a really good game for encouraging forward planning, critical thinking. It’s really good for the youth.”
The Kern River Valley Branch Library has been promoting the chess program on their Facebook and events calendar and through word of mouth, Wagner explained.
Wagner was hoping the chess group would grow over time. “It’s good to see new faces here,” he said.
