Families: Check Mates

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To focus only on the intellectual dimension, though, misses something fundamental. While Noah Belcher, 11, a top-ranked player from Bloomingburg, N.Y., relishes the mental challenge, he also admits, "I like the castles and the knights--you get to move them all around." Noah's brother Christopher, 14, has perhaps the most succinct explanation of why he and so many others play: "It's really fun. Once you get to know it, it's hard to stop playing." Fortunately, chess is a game that can last a lifetime.