Virginia Beach police, middle schoolers square off in weekly chess matches: ‘The kids are better than the cops’
Inside the Virginia Beach Law Enforcement Training Academy on Thursday nights, police are patiently waiting to make their next move.
Seated across from them are young students, battling wits and intent on capturing the officers’ kings.
Each week, the Virginia Beach Police Department welcomes middle schoolers to play chess with officers and other staff members. Lt. Kevin Lokey, who works with the Youth Services Unit, said the Blue Knights group began as just an idea, since his son is an avid player.
“My wife and I were talking about him getting into a chess club. That got me thinking,” Lokey said. “I started talking to kids his age about starting the chess club with our department for the kids in the community. When I go to work that morning, maybe 10 minutes in, another department reaches out to us talking about their chess club down in North Carolina.
“It was their chief, who was a former deputy chief here. It was awfully coincidental that within 10 minutes of this conversation I had with my wife, this comes up. It was like it was meant to be.”
The department has since worked with the Hampton Roads Chess Association for outreach and resources. Every week until school starts, the sessions will be open for all middle schoolers, regardless of their knowledge of chess. Students can register at any time, and parents can stay to watch the matches. Novices receive instruction from local chess coaches, and all equipment for the game is provided.
On Thursday, some kids had been playing for up to eight years, while others took beginner lessons before heading to the main room for matches.
“The kids are better than the cops,” Lokey said. “The cops were very surprised last week with how quickly they were losing. They lost in two moves, in some cases.”
The department’s Youth Services Unit was formed in January, making Blue Knights the first summer program. At its first gathering, the department had 37 students register and more than a dozen officers came to play chess. Lokey hopes that word spreads about the group, so more students can stop by and play a few rounds with officers.
Hannah Acedo, 14, has attended both sessions so far and said she got interested in chess while playing with her brother.
“I really like the competitive part of the game, and it also teaches me some strategies that I can use,” Acedo said.
Lokey said it’s been fun to see how the officers interact with the students, who often win over their adult counterparts. Overall, though, the goal is to build meaningful relationships with students during a pivotal time in their lives, as well as reduce crimes committed by juveniles. Officers also take time to meet children at local recreation centers, including playing basketball and other activities. Lokey said meeting kids where they are, on their turf, is more meaningful than only interacting with them in emergency situations.
By creating these connections, Lokey said he hopes students would feel more comfortable interacting with law enforcement if they need help or have information about a crime.
“Last week, we had a teen on probation who came. You could tell that he really wasn’t happy about being here,” Lokey said. “His (parole officer) had brought him, and throughout the night, you saw him laughing and playing with the police officers. He actually left laughing and said he had a great time.”
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
