About 34 people signed up for a local chess tournament on Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday. The tournament included all-ages and was organized by Ciara Dykstra and her father, Marvin Dykstra.

We dont want chess to leave the community, Ciara Dykstra said. I also have a niece and nephew and a son that I am hoping will start playing soon, in a couple of years.

Dykstra said chess is a good game because its good for the brain and anybody can play.

I think it brings kids together, she said. Dykstra and her father have been running the tournament since 2015.

Her father is a health teacher at Klamath Union, and both of them coach elementary players at Triad School, and at after-school programs at Conger, Roosevelt, Pelican and Mills elementary schools.

Several kids sat in Klamath Union, arriving early in the morning on their day off from school to play chess.

Two 9-year-olds, Tristan Gomez and Hannah Larsen, were playing with intense concentration as their parents stood nearby.

He was good at video games and I said, Well, why dont we try this? Its kind of like a video game, you use strategy, you try to get the king, and he really picked it up quickly, said Garcias father, Anthony Garcia.

Garcia said Gomez has been playing chess for a couple of years, and this was his first tournament.

Larsens mother, Kassandra Larsen Cowart, said her daughter has been playing chess for a long time, but recently became more interested in it after receiving a new chessboard.

She just gravitated towards it. And then you know, I also got her a board for Christmas and thats all we do is eat, breathe, sleep chess at our house. Shes very dedicated to this game, she said.

Gomez and Larsens parents all said they were impressed with the turnout at the tournament.

I love seeing how many people come out for it. I wasnt expecting it because you know, when I was growing up, chess was not a cool thing to do, Larsen Cowart said.

There were five rounds of games in each age category and three age categories. The adult and high school category won a cash prize, while the other two won trophies.

The winners from the kindergarten through fifth-grade categories were Travyn Ruano in third place, Elsie Bawmann in second place and Alex Smith in first place.

From the sixth through eighth-grade category, Third place went to Luke Smith and Donovan Jones, second place went to Isaac Smith, and first place was a three-way tie between Jack Jensen, Wyatt Jensen and Nathan Ferns.

In the adult and high school category, third place went to Tyller Jones and James Stredwick, second place went to Dave Kurfman and Michael John, and first place went to Daniel Warner and Bob Rea.

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Annual chess tournament brings chess lovers together - Herald and News