Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 21, 1991 TAG: 9102220398
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARY JO SHANNON/ SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"They were friendly and accommodating," he said, but the coffee was terrible. "It made espresso look weak. And prices were very inflated - $65 for a pair of jeans, and gas, $3 a liter. Not a gallon, mind you - a liter!"
Jackson, chess coordinator for Roanoke public schools, recently returned from Yugoslavia where he participated as a dual national on the team for the British Virgin Islands at the International Chess Olympiad in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, from Nov. 16 to Dec. 4.
The Russian team took first place, and the United States came in second after a tie-breaker with England, which placed third.
"The Russians are always first," Jackson said. "Someone asked the world champion, [Garry] Kasparov, why this is so. He replied that they do not have TV, movies, football and other American pastimes, so they entertain themselves by playing chess."
A native of New York state, Jackson graduated from Northeast Missouri State University with a degree in mass communications. He worked for the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer before coming to Roanoke. While in North Carolina, he also taught chess at a youth reformatory in Charlotte.
"One player went to a tournament accompanied by a guard in plain clothes," he recalled. "He is now in a halfway house, and he's still playing chess. I believe the game helped him."
Jackson, 31, considers himself a better coach than player; teaching ability is a rare talent, he believes.
However, he also has earned distinction as a player, having received a 1985 award, National Master title, U.S. Chess Federation.
Jackson, who married a woman from the British Virgin Islands during the Christmas break, became coordinator for the Roanoke schools' program a year ago.
Although the temptation to relocate in the British Virgin Islands is strong, and someday he may succumb, Jackson said for the time being, he plans to stay in Roanoke.
"My goal is to have the National Elementary Championship here in Roanoke in 1994-95," he said with a look of determination.
"Chess is a common denominator," Jackson said. "It cuts across age, sex, social class and racial differences. It also gives kids a chance to be competitive without physical violence, requires no special equipment except the game boards and playing pieces and can be played anywhere at any time."
The Roanoke school system's chess program, in its third year, is offered as an extracurricular activity at 24 of the city's 29 schools, either before or after the regular school day, and daily as an elective at Woodrow Wilson Middle School.
Instruction also is offered to alternative-education students, and one class of 14 learning-disabled students had one half-hour of instruction daily for four weeks.
Students seem to consider playing chess recreation and great fun, but educators have a different perspective. Studies show that chess improves the cognitive abilities, rational thinking and reasoning of even the least-promising children.
Experiments in Marina, Calif., and Bradford, Pa., show improvement in academic performance and test scores after students learn to play chess.
Roanoke teachers get paid extra to sponsor the teams, but Jackson tries to attend the weekly meetings. However, because of the rapid increase in school participation, Jackson is having to attend every other week, he said.
Jackson said monthly, local tournaments on Saturdays are held to give youngsters experience and self-confidence before they compete at higher levels.
The tournaments, which are new this year, work better than having the youngsters play on school nights, as they did before this year, he said. Tournament participants pay a modest entry fee to offset expenses.
The student chess teams will take 12 field trips to play in tournaments this year. The program also will be represented by a team of 50 at the National Elementary Tournament in Rye, N.Y., on April 26-28; by 30 at the National Junior High Tournament in Dearborn, Mich., on April 12-14; and by 10 at the Senior High Tournament in Atlanta, May 3-6.
by CNB