Bryan ROllins
Play with a PLAN.
Think before you move!
Time can be pressure – learn to manage both!
Sound like good advice? It is. At the recently held Super Nationals VI chess competition in Nashville, National Chess Education Consultant Jerry Nash conducted a seminar on the “Benefits of Chess as an Educational Tool,” touching on these life lessons learned from being a chess player.
Arlene Kleiman agrees. As the director of Mid-South Chess, she has witnessed these attributes raising her son, Jake Kleiman, who is now an International Chess Master.
Jake Kleiman co-founded Mid-South Chess along with his mentor and International Grandmaster Alex Stripunsky. The organization has been instrumental in training high school and college students to teach younger students. They have a stronghold in Memphis with 16 year’s experience organizing elementary and middle school programs, camps, tournaments, seminars, and simultaneous chess exhibitions.
This summer, Mid-South Chess presented an Introduction to Chess program at the Collierville Burch Library. During the program, they sustained children’s interest for a solid four-hour period, thanks to their coaches making the session lively and entertaining.
Why play chess?
“Chess is the gymnasium of the mind,” stated the famed French mathematician Blaise Pascal nearly 400 years ago.
Chess introduces fundamental skills in literacy and math. It develops a culture of critical and creative thinking. “The focus should be on fun, improvement, and enjoyment of the game as against winning trophies,” mentions Nash. Early exposure to the game, along with consistent practice can help with higher-order thinking, focus, and perseverance.
“The versatility of the game is probably its greatest strength: Players can be as young as a kindergartner or as old as the elderly, and players can still participate with physical limitations,” observes Korey Kormick, lead coach with Mid-South Chess.
Chess requires few basics, minimal equipment (just a chessboard and pieces), and can be played both alone and as a competitive or group activity. As a “mind sport” activity, chess can be enjoyed as an academic pursuit, as a puzzle to solve, or simply for its aesthetics.
After-school Chess Clubs
“Funding, volunteers, and competition are three key factors for running a successful chess program,” points out Peter Pritchett, chess teacher and coach at Douglas Optional School — Memphis’ only Chess Optional School.
Now is the time of the year when chess clubs are forming in schools. Arlene Kleiman insists on instructors showcasing not only chess ability and active play, but also communicative child-friendly skills and enthusiasm for the game.
“The purpose of the group is paramount in determining how a chess club should be structured, taught, and regulated,” notes Kormick.
Mid-South Chess coaches Laura Marie and Matthew Horton taught the beginner and intermediate level chess programs at the Collierville Burch Library.
Laura made the entire process kid-friendly and interactive. When explaining basic chess rules, she talked about how the pieces cannot share squares because they didn’t go to kindergarten. She used Dave Schloss Chess 101 Series Flash Colorable Cards to reiterate the rules, and the kids had a blast learning them in a creative way.
Horton showed how strategies work in a fun way, sprinkling in a little bit of history and technical jargon like fork, skewer, and chess opening names.
Chess as an Educational Tool
Ben Franklin is thought to have been the first to advocate for the study of chess; he said, “The lessons learned from playing chess, of foresight, circumspection, and caution, could be applied to the conduct of life as well.”
Life certainly imitates chess, and children develop critical skills in the process. Nash reports that, among other things, chess helps children respond versus react in conflict resolution, build positive self-esteem, and improve social interaction. He goes on to say how it impacts the special needs community. It offers opportunity for immediate engagement and peer mentoring, and almost all learning modalities are accommodated.
“The benefits are primarily threefold: It is an accessible way to provide an introduction to other topics, it is conceptually a math class on a board if you treat it as such, and it is an extremely effective tool to improve abstract thinking skills: logic, causal relationships, problem solving,” shares Kormick with the Mid-South Chess group.
Pritchett notices children believing in themselves, paying more attention in class, and improving problem-solving skills. The ability to analyze and critique their own games gets them ready for competition.
Parental Involvement
Parents play a pivotal role in this pursuit. Nash suggests they serve as chess coaches, tournament directors, program volunteers, and program advocates in the school and community. Parents are often the primary drivers for the development of scholastic chess because they see firsthand how their children benefit from playing the game.
Pritchett mentions that while it is the coach’s responsibility to set the environment so that the kids feel safe and learns from criticism, the parent’s role is to be encouraging and help them be disciplined to work hard at chess.
Lifelong Interest
“Chess is a unique cognitive nexus, a place where art and science come together in the human mind and are then refined and improved by experience,” said World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, who was the first one to duel with supercomputer Deep Blue.
So how do we instill a lifelong passion for chess? Kormick mentions that it can only come about by information and cultural presence. There are few fields which have been transformed in the technological revolution for a broader appeal as much as the Game of Kings.
Nash stresses that the support system available to the student is crucial for improvement of chess skills.
Pritchett believes that he would be able to sustain a lifelong interest if he teaches children how to train properly. The techniques and procedures that they learn will stay with them long after they leave school.
RESOURCES
Shelby County Chess
A nonprofit group runs the Friday Knights Chess Club at 6466 Poplar Avenue as well as Club 1313 for teens and scholastic players with a rating of 1300 or higher. It organizes a series of individual and team tournaments each academic year. Go to shelbycountychess.com for details.
Mid-South Chess
A teaching consortium organizes many scholastic programs in the greater Memphis area. The annual capstone event is the Mid-South Chess Camp in June, which brings to Memphis several internationally titled instructors to teach players who come from all around the country. Visit chesscamp.us for more information.
Benjamin L. HooksCentral Library
The library is a hub for a significant collection of chess books, the monthly Chess Life magazine, chess classes, chess tournaments, and events. Recently they have worked to acquire chess sets to check out for use in the building.
Need inspiration?
Check out the book Chess! I Love It, I Love It, I Love It! by Jamie Gilson or watch Disney’s Queen of Katwe movie. Also contact your local schools to find out about joining after-school chess clubs.