PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A new juniors chess club has launched in Port St. Lucie, inspired by a young boy who wanted to share his love of the game with his community.
Orion Jean Baptiste, a 9-year-old from Port St. Lucie, is the driving force behind the club.
WATCH WPTV'S COVERAGE BELOW:
"I just wanted kids to learn about chess," Baptiste said.
Baptiste's love of the game began at age 5, playing alongside family. Now he hopes to pass that passion on to others.
"Everybody's more focused on like tech stuff," Baptiste said. "I'm hoping that more people have respect for board games."
Diana Cowan Kempton, the club's program director, said she hopes chess will help develop the next generation.
"[It] will help to build leaders or members that are more focused, more patient, more strategic and thoughtful in their decision [making]," Kempton said.
The club is attracting players of all skill levels. Thomas Furlong, a father who brought his children to the club, said the setting is ideal for his family.
"This is like the perfect chance for her to learn chess, my son to get better at chess and then them to have a little sibling rivalry competition," Furlong said.
More than 36 juniors have already joined at the Port St. Lucie Community Center. The Atlantis Chess Club now meets there every Friday. The club will soon begin 2 more programs at the Fenn Center in Fort Pierce.
For Francesca Furlong, one of the club's newest members, the best part is simple.
"[I like] playing with other kids," Francesca said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
