During the summer of 2015, in partnership with the Cuyahoga County Public Library, we ran our second annual chess program at the Solon Public Library. The more advanced players had the opportunity to play against one another, and the beginning players were able to learn the fundamentals of the game and expand their introductory knowledge. […]
Week 12: We went over notation once again to make sure the children knew what to write down when various chess moves were made. It was apparent that, even after only having been taught how to take chess notation last week, the children were much more proficient in their abilities to accurately document the moves […]
Week 10: Yet again, we took the opportunity to let the children play chess games against one another. We thought that it was important for them to be given another chance to put into practice what they had learned and that simply playing a game of chess was a great way for the children to solidify […]
Week 8: This week, although we taught the chess club as well, I was placed in a classroom of 2nd graders who were new to chess. I introduced the children to the game by going over the basics—the names of the pieces, how they move, their worth, etc. After covering these fundamentals, I went over how […]
Week 6: First, we gave a small lesson on the intuitive “stepladder checkmate,” wherein a lone king is checkmated by pieces such as queen and rooks that progressively cut the king off from ranks or files until the king is checkmated. We spent the rest of the time by splitting ourselves amongst the children as […]
Week 4: Today, I was introduced to the chess club, which now meets on Fridays (during the time which chess occurs in the classroom). I taught the chess club by myself this week, and my friends went to 3 other classes. In the chess club, I went over the chess principles and the basics of […]
Week 2: My friend and I both went to the same room today and went over the fundamentals of the chess with the kids, including how the pieces move, each piece’s value, and chess principles. One thing that we really stressed and will continue to do is the need to understand what a move achieves. Understanding […]
Over 100 Chicago Public Schools are incorporating chess into the 2nd and 3rd grade curriculum at school to teach math, critical thinking, and a variety of other important skills. On Friday, January 23, 2015, a friend (a National Chess Expert) and I visited Andrew Carnegie Elementary School (ACES) and explored how Invest in Chess can […]
Week 3: Our third session had an excellent turnout! Similar to the last few weeks, the more seasoned players were able to play a myriad of games against one another and subsequently analyze them; the beginning players reviewed the basics of a few openings, including the main lines of the Ruy Lopez and French Defense […]
We started a weekly chess program at the Public Library in Solon, Ohio because there wasn’t a good way for the Solon Chess Team and other youth in the area to get together in the summer to play quality games or learn about chess. These programs started in July and have been held every Monday […]