When asked about his favorite piece on a chess board, 12-year-old Jax Green is all in on the knight.

"A knight is one of the best pieces because it’s the only chess piece that has its own personal set of things," Jax of Spirit Lake said Monday.

Other pieces can't copy the versatile knight's ability to move in an "L" pattern, two squares in a vertical or horizontal direction and one more in a perpendicular direction. Jax said it's a handy piece for forcing opponents to move their kings and rooks.

"The knight is a sneakier way of doing things," he said.

Jax and his twin brother, Eli, who is also a chess player and enthusiast, competed in the U.S. Chess Federation's National K-12 Grade Championships in Spokane Dec. 11-14. They were among more than 1,200 young chess aficionados from across the country who vied for championship status. The tournaments were categorized by grade.

"It actually wasn't that intimidating. There was a whole bunch of people who were the same as us in one giant room," Jax said. "It was really cool how they made that many kids sit down and play chess and be quiet."

This was the first national tournament for the twins. They began dabbling in chess about three years ago and joined the Spirit Lake Chess Club two years ago.

“We’re really competitive, with everybody," Jax said. 

Eli said he doesn't love the feeling of being close to losing, "and if I'm close to winning and one move stops me from winning then I’m also sad."

"It’s like a roller coaster," he said, "depending on the position."

Although the Timberlake Middle School sixth graders didn't take top slots in the national competition, they ranked about 150th.

"We each got a medal," Eli said.

The Spirit Lake Chess Club is hosted by the Spirit Lake Community Center and sponsored by the Community Library Network. Spirit Lake Library adult programmer Akaemi Ferris launched the club three years ago after her son, daughter and husband caught the chess bug.

"There was just a gap," she said. "There were chess clubs in Coeur d'Alene, in Post Falls, but there was not anywhere for anyone to play chess up in Spirit Lake."

She decided to create a group that is open to all ages so multiple generations could share their joy of chess and friendly competition.

"I was doing this for my family and the other families there," she said. "When we first started, I didn’t know how to play chess."

She tapped into something by filling that gap. The club had 55 members join during its first month.

"By the time we were able to get out there and have a program, we had too many people to have our chess club in the library, so we had to host it outside on the lawn in front of the library," Ferris said. "We had to get a bunch of those big canopies. We had five or six out and I can’t recall how many tables. We had literally 55 kids and adults."

The club meets from 3 to 5 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month at the Spirit Lake Community Center, 32564 Fourth Ave., with the schedule varying depending on holidays. Ferris said a steady 20-30 members show up to play each month. The youngest member is 6 and the oldest member is 87.

She said she could not have been happier that two of the club's young members took an interest in the national competition.

“We made our chess club to promote and teach these kids to go out and test the waters in tournaments and things like that," Ferris said. "We created rules, which teach them chess etiquette, and we create this kind of environment that allows them to learn from one another. We really try very hard to make sure they have the tools they need so if they do try going to some of these scholastic tournaments that they have what they need to do that."

She said Eli and Jax are smart, quick and awesome players.

"They’ve created an environment where they help each other, they remind each other, 'Hey you have to put that board away, you have to clean up after yourself,'" Ferris said. "On top of them being great kids, they teach each other."

Eli recommends other kids to check out chess videos on YouTube if they wish to become more knowledgeable about the game.

Jax said now that winter break has started, they'll be playing lots of matches.

"If you really get joy out of playing chess, then 100% it is worth it," he said.

Their mom, Maren Maier, said she's proud her boys are playing a thinking game that is considered a gentleman's sport.

"They have to shake hands," she said. "It teaches them really good social skills and manners."

According to the Spirit Lake Checkmate December newsletter, both boys were in the top 10 out of 27 on the club's ladder board, working their way to the top.

    Eli Green of Spirit Lake, left, competes at the K-12 U.S. Chess Federation's National K-12 Grade Championships held Dec. 11-14 in Spokane. His twin brother Jax can be seen diagonally across the table, contemplating his next move.