At chess board, opponents are pawns for River Ridge player

Noah Quesnel has all the right moves.

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The River Ridge Elementary School fourth-grader won his second state chess title at a Georgia Chess Association tournament held March 28 on Jekyll Island, Ga.

The 10-year-old outplayed the 10 other players in the elementary section in five rounds during the 2009 Georgia Open Individual Scholastic Chess Championship.

"There were a couple of tough matches," Noah said, especially his third-round matchup with Eric Lu, the only player to outrank him in the section. "It turned out the final game for the championship wasn't that hard. ... Actually it was the third-place round that was the hard one."

Noah, of Evans, started playing chess at age 5. He was curious about the game and asked his mother, Jane Quesnel, to show him how to play.

"I showed him and he just loved it," Quesnel said. "He just took off. We started going to tournaments. He really enjoys it."

Noah has played in the state tournament since he was in kindergarten. He won his first state championship in the primary section -- kindergarten through third grades -- in 2007 as a second-grader.

Even as a youngster, Noah understands the strategy chess requires and that good players always think many moves ahead.

Noah even chooses to play white for a strategic reason.

"Because (white) gets the first move," said Noah, who often practices on the computer.

Quesnel said her son just has a natural ability for chess and is a member of the Aiken Chess Club and the chess club at River Ridge Elementary. Her normally active son is very focused and concentrated when perched over the chess board.

The pair, sometimes bringing along Noah's father, Andr, and 2-year-old brother Eli, go to tournaments about once a month. Quesnel said there are no local chess tournaments, so they travel to out-of-town tournaments around the state and Southeast. They have been to matches in Atlanta, Statesboro, Ga., and Charlotte, N.C.

Quesnel said she'll continue to take him to tournaments as long as Noah enjoys playing and competing.

"I like to travel," said Noah, adding that he likes competing for a different reason. "I like winning."

Noah has more than 30 trophies, including his 2007 state championship trophy that was nearly as tall as the then-second-grader.

When he's not playing chess, Noah said he enjoys video games, Legos and playing with his dog.

Even though he loves technology and playing chess, Noah said he doesn't know what he wants to do when he grows up.

"I'm clueless when it comes to that," he joked.

What he does know is that he wants to continue competing in chess tournaments.

"We're very proud of him," Quesnel said.