The I.S. 318 Chess Team: The Kings of Brooklyn Chess

Thirteen-year-old Miguel Garcia makes a move against an opponent, gets up to walk away for five minutes, only to come back, take one look at the board, and swipe his rook to capture his opponent’s pawn at 4-6. It’s an ice-cold move that brings to mind why, when speaking of the great athletes of professional team sports, so many references are made to “thinking like a chess player” — always a few moves ahead.
Garcia has reason to be so self-assured, as he is one of the top players on the top team in the country: the defending national champions of I.S. 318 in Williamsburg. And while the posters saying “Vote for Pobama, he will Pobamafy the school” are plastered all over the green cafeteria walls indicate it’s election season at the middle school, politics take a back seat when the champions welcome player from all over the city to their home turf.
“It’s a culture of excellence.” I.S. 318 Assistant Principal John Galvin says on a Saturday afternoon as he takes a bite of the chocolate cake served up at the school bake sale. On this day as the school welcomed chess players from all over the city, the halls of I.S. 318 carry almost the feel of tailgaters waiting to see a huge sporting event, but considering the host school are the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade defending national champions, that might not be far off. “This is about the tenth year that we’ve had a real program, and now it’s gotten to the point where kids want to come to 318 to play chess. We even have one student that commutes from The Bronx because he wants to play chess here.” Galvin looks out to the sea of players that could be looked at as a perfect example of not only the universal love of chess, but a map of diversity among the entire city of New York: An Asian boy chugs from a bottle of Gatorade that states “Bring It” on the label, as he moves his piece and says “check” to his blond haired, blue eyed opponent. Sitting next to them, a boy in a Puerto Rico baseball hat stares contemplatively at the board, as his opponent, wearing a necklace with the flag of Ecuador moves his piece into checkmate. The king is tipped over, the two players shake hands, and clean up their board. As for Garcia, he sits at the table that has the marquee match-ups of the day, as the top-ranked players do battle. Other students come to watch as Garcia, along with his teammates Randy Rivera and Danny Feng do what they have become best-known for: win.
As the main event between Garcia and his opponent comes to a frantic end, the young man from I.S. 318 never breaks his look of utter concentration. Watching the match unfold, you begin to realize that Garcia has his opponent on the run. Some pieces are captured, while others retreat backwards to protect the king. Finally, Garcia’s opponent looks down at the board, plays with his move book, shakes his head no, and resigns before Garcia has a chance to checkmate him. Another victim to this flourishing chess dynasty located in North Brooklyn.