How Does Chess Benefit Children?
January 23, 2009 by Support
Filed under Featured, Programs, Teachers/Coaches
CHESS IN THE SCHOOLS
How Does Chess Benefit Children?
- The game of chess helps young people learn to concentrate, think logically, overcome obstacles, spot patterns and categorize information.
- It helps with the development of problem-solving skills, planning, patience, focus of thought and self-discipline.
- Chess is a competitive activity, but , good sportsmanship and fair play are taught as essential elements of the game.
- Chess is a one-against-one activity, however, teamwork is also an important element. This element comes into play when Club members must practice and work on problems together.
- Everyone has a chance to contribute to the team in tournament play as chess clubs may enter as many players as they wish and various skill-levels or age-based sections are generally available.
- A scholastic chess club provides a challenge for students while helping build confidence and self-esteem. It offers a combination of educational and social activity.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Do I have to be a chess player to start a chess club?
No, you do not need advanced chess skills to organize a club. There are videos and simple instructional booklets that anyone can use to learn the game. You can almost always find a parent, older student or chess player in the community to help the group get started. You will want to read through a rule book and learn the basic elements of the game, but you do not have to be a skilled player yourself. Many clubs benefit from having non-playing organizers to support chess instructors.
Do I have to be a teacher to start a chess club?
No. A chess club may be sponsored by a parent or interested chess player in the community. Frequently, a parent and teacher will jointly sponsor a club, because being a teacher might make it easier to gain permission to use school facilities for meetings or tournaments.It is important to work with school administrators for recognition of chess clubs as a school function, part of the schools extracurricular program. While this may take some time, achievement of this goal will benefit both the chess club and the school.
How much time does a Chess club take?
It depends on how much time you are willing to invest. It could be as little as an hour a week, but it will vary depending on the number of students involved and their ages. Most clubs meet regularly for one to two hours per week. These meetings may be after school, in the evening or on weekends.
How much money is involved in starting a club?
You can start a scholastic chess program for very little money – substantially less than the cost of just one football uniform. All that is required are a few chess sets.
If local funding is not available, contact the U.S. Chess Trust for assistance on getting free chess sets and US Chess Federation memberships.
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Chess Players: 2008 Pan American Continental Championship
As of Nov. 1, 2008, the following players will be participating in the 2008 Pan American Continental Championship.
Registrations are still open and ongoing so check back for player updates!
Note: A Player’s Profile page for the participants will also be posted on the website soon.
CHESS PLAYERS: (Title, Name, Country, FIDE and/or USCF Rating)
- GM Julio Becerra (USA) Rating 2602
- GM Alexander Shabalov (USA) Rating 2585
- GM Jaan Ehlvest (USA) Rating 2581
- GM Alexandr Stripunsky (USA) Rating 2553
- GM Alexander Ivanov (USA) Rating 2546
- GM Manuel Leon Hoyos (Mexico) Rating 2535
- GM Alonso Zapata (Colombia) Rating 2501
- IM Josh Ed Friedel (USA) Rating 2498
- IM Vinay Bhat (USA) Rating 2497
- GM Darcy Lima (Brazil) Rating 2488
- IM Alder Escobar (Colombia) Rating 2482
- IM Everaldo Matsuura (Brazil) Rating 2469
- IM Ray Robson (USA) Rating 2466
- IM Justin Sarkar (USA) Rating 2451
- IM Sergio Barrientos (Colombia) Rating 2450
- IM Mauricio A Uribe (Colombia) Rating 2414
- GM Gildardo Garcia (Colombia) Rating 2410
- IM Blas Lugo (USA) Rating 2403
- IM Nelson Gamboa (Colombia) Rating 2378
- IM Alfonso Almeida (Mexico) Rating 2378
- FM Daniel M Rensch (USA) Rating 2354
- FM Renato Terry (Peru) Rating 2349
- FM Mauricio Rios Parra (Colombia) Rating 2334
- IM David Arenas (Colombia) Rating 2323
- FM Ilye Figler (USA) Rating 2322
- Raymond Kaufman (USA) Rating 2320
- FM Alan Borda (Bolivia) Rating 2320
- FM Alex Betaneli (USA) Rating 2318
- FM Jake Kleiman (USA) Rating 2315
- FM Alfredo Peña (Colombia) Rating 2309
- WFM ALISA MELEKHIN (USA) Rating 2299
- Yevgeni Margulis (USA) Rating 2274
- Eric Rodriguez (USA) Rating 2270
- FM Fabio La Rota (USA) Rating 2252
- FM Lincoln Lucena (Brazil) Rating 2239
- Manuel Robledo Gonzales (Peru) Rating 2223
- Erik F Santarius (USA) Rating 2213
- Smith Dolorier (Peru) Rating 2210
- FM Wilson Estuardo Lorenzana (Guatemala) Rating 2202
- Jerald W Times (USA) Rating 2202
- Jose Luis Fonseca Gonzalez (Nicaragua) Rating 2200
- Andres Hortillosa (USA) Rating 2199
- MF Alvaro Garcia (Colombia) Rating 2198
- Constantine Xanthos (USA) Rating 2196
- Eric N Cooke (USA) Rating 2191
- Ashish Vaja (USA) Rating 2184
- CM Boris Ariel Ferrufino (Bolivia) Rating 2182
- FM Carlos Reyes Najera (Guatemala) Rating 2150
- Dr. Joaquim Soares (Brazil) Rating 2149
- WFM Chouchanik Airapetian (USA) Rating 2117
- Jorge Reynaldo (Cuba) Rating 2112
- FM Victor Sarat (Guatemala) Rating 2109
- Andres Santalla (USA) Rating 2108
- Jeffrey Haskel (USA) Rating 2096
- Eduardo Bermudez (Colombia) Rating 2095
- Neal Goldberg (USA) Rating 2074
- Gregory J Kimmel (USA) Rating 2057
- Dr. Carlos Pique (Nicaragua) Rating 2048
- Raul Barros (Colombia) Rating 2044
- Bill Hall (USA) Rating 2120
- FM Raul Junior Barros (Colombia) Rating 2002
- Mike Lucente (USA) Rating 1946
- Christopher Heung (USA) Rating 1946
- Mel H Goss (USA) Rating 1939
- William Miguel Reyes Soco (Guatemala) Unrated
- Igor G Baptista (Brazil) Unrated