By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Seattle Police Department Detective Denise “Cookie” Bouldin hosted her second annual chess tournament on Sunday, March 24, at the Rainier Beach Community Center, where students in grades Kindergarten through 12th gathered to compete for trophies and pride.
Following the conclusion of the five-hour tournament, trophies were awarded to the top finishing players in each of the different grade sections. In addition to the trophies, medals for first-timers, best female player, best dressed, and biggest upset win in each age section were given out as well. As a group, the kids from Detective Cookie’s Chess Club won first place out of a talented group of chess clubs from throughout the region.
“We had kids from all over… Mercer Island, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Gig Harbor came out to participate in the chess tournament, and my chess club kids won it all,” says Bouldin.
With the chess tournament now being an annual event, Bouldin has seen a tremendous rise in participants not only within the Seattle community but also in surrounding cities.
“Last year, we had approximately close to 100 children from kindergarten level to high school participate in the chess tournament. This year, we upped it to 150 people participating in the tournament, and 225 people in total at the tournament including those supporting a member that was playing,” says Bouldin.
Bouldin says that the Seattle Police Foundation has been a tremendous supporter of the chess club by providing supplies, trophies, and food for the participants of the chess tournament this year.
“This isn’t just my chess club; it is a beautiful community event. What people don’t understand is that some of these kids don’t eat on the weekends, and sometimes only eat at school,” says Bouldin. “So, I would make sure that I would have food for the kids at chess club on the weekends and at our tournaments. I am so blessed to have Ezell’s Chicken, Rainier Beach Safeway, and the Rainier Beach McDonald’s make it possible for my kids to have something to eat because on many occasions they have donated food.”
Embarking on a path to find positive ways to entertain the youth, Bouldin created the free interactive chess club program in 2006 for kids ages seven and older. Sessions are held every Saturday at the Rainier Beach Community Center from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The assumption that kids in the Rainier Beach community have made about needing to be smart to play chess is what drove Bouldin to create not only the weekly chess club and the annual chess tournament, but as well as the Detective Cookie Chess Park located in South Seattle. Bouldin’s group includes kids of all ages and skillsets and teaches them the game of chess regardless of how smart they or any of their peers think they are.
“In my younger years, I had somebody try to teach me how to play chess, and he was so impatient with me that I had gotten to the point where I told myself that I was not smart enough to play chess,” says Bouldin. “So, when I had a kid say to me that they wanted to have a chess tournament, in my mind, I didn’t want to do it, but this is what they asked for and I was going to make it happen.”
Bouldin has been very optimistic about continuing to give the community a great alternative to negative activities. The weekly chess club and the Detective Cookie Chess Tournament have been a big deal for the kids who live in the Rainier Beach area because it presents them with an opportunity to get out and positively try something new.
“When you have the job that I have, you are going to hear about negative news either way, and that is one of the reasons I want to give people something positive. I wanted them to see a police officer in a positive way, and I feel that I am that police officer that my chess club kids can see in a positive way,” says Bouldin. “The chess club is successful because of the wonderful volunteers who have assisted me in making the Detective Cookie Chess Club, Park, and Tournaments successful.”