A Game That Sharpens The Mind

Don Freytag, Ray Van Meerten, Daphyre Astremon, Paul Bagley and Ellen Gezork play chess at the Indian River County Main Library.

 According to German chess master Adolf Anderssen, “Chess is the gymnasium of the mind.” Ellen Gezork knows just what Anderssen, once considered the world’s top player, is talking about. “Chess is so good for the brain. You have to focus, concentrate, understand the moves and look ahead. You have to know that if this happens, then so-and-so can also happen,” says the lifelong player whose father introduced her to the game when she was nine. 

That was 92 years ago and Ellen, who co-founded the Indian River Chess Club in the late 1970s, is still going strong. She’s one of the first to arrive at the Indian River County Main Library where players gather year-round on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. She’s also one of the last to leave. During the school year she and the club’s president Paul Bagley teach chess to students at Beachland Elementary. They both have a passion for passing their knowledge of the game on to others. 

“My father was a very good chess player and I was an only child,” says Ellen, who celebrated her 101st birthday this past June. “My mother didn’t play and he wanted someone to play with so he taught me. I think nine is a good age to start learning. When children are young they’re like sponges; they’re able to soak things up quickly. I thank my father every day for teaching me. Spending that time with him was such a joy.”