Thirteen-year-old Ricky Dow approaches a game of chess the same way he views life -- he has many options in front of him.

The West Fresno Middle School eighth-grader knows that a lot rides on his decisions.

"You make one mistake, and it can cost you," Ricky said.

And the words of his chess coach, Anthony Sidney, replay in Ricky's mind while he ponders his strategy: "Think before you move."

That advice is particularly meaningful to kids in Ricky's southwest Fresno neighborhood, where many families are low-income or jobless and many youngsters are drawn into the gang life.

Sidney isn't just teaching Ricky and the rest of the West Fresno Chess Team about the game -- he challenges their minds and exposes them to the world beyond their neighborhood.

"It gives these kids opportunities outside their bubble, outside their comfort zone," he said.

And if they learn nothing else, the dozen or so team members discover they have the talents and intelligence to compete, and to succeed -- as long as they also have the motivation.

Home field advantage

On Saturday, Ricky and his teammates put their chess skills to the test. The West Fresno team, part of the Westside Chess League that includes the highly successful Mendota High School and Coalinga chess clubs, hosted the league tournament for the second straight year. The event brought about 100 players -- first-graders to high school students -- to the West Fresno Elementary School cafeteria.

The day was marked by intense competition. But between rounds, players from all schools joined in games of kickball and football in a grassy area just outside the cafeteria.

"On the board, it's dog eat dog," said Vaness French, Mendota's coach and the tournament director, "but out on the playground, they're friends again."

The West Fresno players' hard work to prepare for the tournament paid off when they won the junior high and fourth-sixth grade divisions -- the first time the team has won the top spots at a tournament.

"I told them I don't want anyone coming to our house and taking first place," Sidney said. "They took care of business."

West Fresno Principal Alan Macedo said his school's chess team is one of many after-school activities that keep students interested and connected to their classroom studies.

The chess team "is helping to change the culture at West Fresno," Macedo said.

For nearly a decade, West Fresno was better known for low student test scores, fiscal disarray and criminal allegations against board members. A state takeover in 2003 prompted the state to merge West Fresno's middle and elementary schools with Washington Unified School District last July.

Sidney, 28, who works as a security officer on the West Fresno Elementary campus, said he was asked three years ago by West Fresno's former principal to start a chess club.

Because he hadn't played chess since high school, Sidney brushed up his skills with the help of other coaches, including French.

The after-school chess club gives students a chance to feel good about themselves, Sidney said.

"Last year I had a kid win a trophy, and it was the first one he had ever won," he said. "That would not have happened without chess."

The team competes in about five tournaments a year from December to May.

French is glad to see the growth of chess clubs around the Valley. He said West Fresno's team is improving, thanks to Sidney's dedication.

"This is not rocket science. It just requires someone who genuinely cares about the kids, and he does," said French, whose Mendota team was co-national champion with the Coalinga Chess Club in the 16- to 18-year-old section at a tournament in a competition last fall.