How-To & Education
How to start an Elementary School Chess Club
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This lens is devoted to information and resources for anyone interested in starting an elementary school chess club.
My son (3rd grade) loves to play chess and has been playing with his Dad for several years. One day I said "Do you think we should have a chess club at your school?" His answer was an enthusiastic YES.
I had no clue what I was doing, but muddled my way through to start a chess club at his elementary school. (I'm not even a good chess player!) I was pleased and surprised at the enthusiastic response the chess club received.
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Good kid's chess resources on the internet
- AAA Chess Club
- We are a non-profit educational organization, highly instrumental in training and mastery of Chess game to the youth. Our goal is to promote the Chess among our youngsters and teenagers. The idea is not only to develop the skills and power of thinking and planing, but to bring these kids into a professional level and boost their moral for self-confidence, challenge and healthy competition.
- SchoolChess.com's Think Like a King School Chess Software System
- The Think Like A King School Chess Software System has what you need for your chess club: Chess Club Manager%uFFFD and the Chess Workouts%uFFFD books-on-disk. Used in hundreds of schools worldwide!
- Media Division's flashChess
- The only chess game ever created in flash - a great resource for those who want to learn to play chess.
- Academic Chess 2006
- Academic Chess is a not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to bringing chess and all of its scholastic and intellectual benfits to children.
- Dean of Chess - Learn how to play chess with chess lessons and videos teaching chess strategy from Dean Ippolito.
- Learn about chess and the benefits of chess for children as well as buy unique chess products ranging from chess bags to keychains to chess sets. International Master of Chess, Dean Ippolito, has been playing chess for over 20 years and has won numerous titles and awards. Chess lessons are available.
- www.chesscircle.net
- A place for chess on the net. Articles, games, etc. Looks like fun...
Links to Chess Rules
- Chess Rules for Kids
- Chess Rules for Kids
- Rules of Chess: The 50 moves rule
- The question of what happens when one player only has a king came up pretty often. We had some games that would have gone on until summer if we hadn't found this 50 move rule!
Benefits of Chess in Education
- AmChess-Research
- Benefits of Chess in Education
- NEUROSCIENCE FOR KIDS NEWSLETTER
- Chess - A Brainy Game
- Edutech Chess: Why Chess?
- More info on the benefits of chess in education.
Starting the Sandy Hook School Chess Club
What I learned....
We started by asking the school if we could use a classroom after school hours so that the kids could just stay after school to play and have a parent pick them up.We opened the club to 3rd and 4th graders. There was a very enthuiastic response and several 1st and 2nd graders asked to join. Next year we'll open it up to all grades!
We asked the PTA to buy the chess boards (and also asked families to donate some if they could.) We negotiated a good price with a local toy store.
Basically, I gave the kids "play sheets" with the names of the other students in the club and let them choose their own partners--marking off for each game whether it was a win/lose/draw.
Most of the children knew how to play, but I had some handouts of how the pieces move to give anyone who needed it.
The more experienced players taught the less experienced players some tips and tricks about the game.
Our goals were to:
Have Fun playing chess
Learn to play a better game of chess
Practice good sportsmanship
Maybe next year we'll get fancy and have tournament.
Good Chess Stuff for young children and beginning players
Kids' Book of Chess and Chess Set
We consulted this book several times during chess club for rules about how and when you can Castle and for a really good starting game one of our players used to great advantage. We dubbed it "checkmate in 4 moves."
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Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 10/11/2008)
List Price: $15.95
Chess Tactics for Kids
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Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 10/11/2008)
List Price: $14.95
Winning Chess Exercises for Kids
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Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 10/11/2008)
List Price: $29.95
Chess For Kids Everything You need to Learn & Play
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Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 10/11/2008)
List Price: $14.95
Sandy Hook School Chess Club Pictures
We have a pretty even split between girls and boys in the club.
Sandy Hook School Chess Club
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Reader Feedback
This is a great lens. I hope it encourages lots of people to start chess clubs in elementary schools - the best time to get kids interested in chess. If you get a chance, check out Chess for Kids Today
Posted August 10, 2008
I used your site as one of the resources when I started the Doss Elementary school chess club ( http://dosschess.googlepages.com ) thanks!
Posted February 28, 2008
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GiGiBelts
Great info! Posted January 12, 2008 |
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freechessgames
i totally would've loved to have a chess club in elementary school! that's a great idea. Posted December 01, 2007 |
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Tom-Chess-Openings
chess club is a GREAT kids activity! nice job! Posted November 15, 2007 |
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moreWhat's here
- Good kid's chess resources on the internet
- Links to Chess Rules
- Benefits of Chess in Education
- Starting the Sandy Hook School Chess Club
- Good Chess Stuff for young children and beginning players
- More...
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