On a Tuesday afternoon in a University Heights classroom, the adolescent members of PS/MS 15’s chess team sit quietly practicing their craft.

The classroom, which doubles as the dean’s office, is decorated with photos of chess masters, a small army of trophies and, of course, chessboards on every table. The space serves as the incubator and training ground for some of the nation’s best junior high school chess players.

For the second time in five years, the PS/MS 15 team proved its mettle on a big stage, taking home the national junior high chess championship at a tournament in Minneapolis in April.

“I love to win,” said 13-year-old Christian Rodriguez who said he’s been playing since he was 5. 

“I’m really proud of these kids,” said the team’s coach Alan Abrams. “They’re great kids.”

Chess is engrained in the culture at this successful school on Andrews Avenue. The so-called Royal Game is taught once a week to students from first to eighth grade as part of the school’s curriculum. Most of the students on the chess team have been playing competitively since the second grade.

“I was picked to play this game and I thought, ‘okay why not, it looks challenging,’ and I ended up liking it,” said Jaison Gonzalez, 13.

Abrams, who teaches the chess program at PS/MS 15, is also a private tutor and creator of the Literacy Through Chess Program.

“One has to be good in math, art or music, any one of the three is a characteristic of a good chess player,” said Abrams. He added, “When looking for students to be on the team, I look for focus and ability. These students have exactly that and more.”

“When I first started playing chess, it made me feel relaxed, and I thought it was fun because it’s like solving problems,” said Christopher Padron, 12. “I like solving problems. Math is my favorite subject.”

Every year since 1999, the team has made nationals; they were also named champions in 2006.

Traveling to various states including Florida, Tennessee and Colorado is among their favorite reasons to be on the chess team. Some travel with their parents while others travel alone. “I love traveling, that’s part of the reason why I want to continue with the chess team even in high school,” said 14-year-old Minh Mac. “Oh and ‘cause I love chess,” she smiled.

This year’s team, who call themselves the Chess Scholars — Minh, Jaison, Christopher, Christian, Edirka Alcantara, 12, Gabriel Benitez, 13, Christopher Capizzuto, 13, and Sean Sookram, 13 — tied with the team from Florida, allowing both teams to be named National Champions.

The children all agree that it takes a lot of practice, hard work and determination to become national champions. “I practice every day, whether it’s an actual game or on the computer,” Christopher Padron said.

“A lot of people might say the game is boring or weird, but if you really understand the game and know how to play it, it’s actually a lot of fun,” said Edirka.

In order to get to the nationals, the students and their families did their own fund-raising and also received funding from parents in Westchester who are familiar with the work of Abrams. More funding might be on the way.

When arriving at the airport in New York from Minneapolis, the vice president of Goldman Sachs (who observed the children during their flight and at the championship), approached Abrams, complimenting him on the children’s behavior. Impressed by their demeanor, he offered to help fund them in the future.