Making Moves with Chess

What do you do when a bishop is coming after your king? You call your queen! 

Chess teaches patience,  critical thinking skills, and problem solving. Do you attack, defend or evade?You predict your opponents moves and strategize. How cool is that...

I learned chess in 7th grade in a summer program because the mentor, Andy, was sooo cute! It is similar to checkers only because it's played on the same board. The shapes, position on the board,  and names of pieces need a few hours to learn.  It reminds me of the Medieval Period with the names: knights, queen, king, bishop, and "castling." Quite a learning process.     As I gained knowledge of the pieces and  the moves, I developed my own game. I always attempted to use my "rooks" to "check mate"  my opponent's king. Andy quickly saw through my only ploy and I had to re-think my game. What did I learn: patience, planning and ,yes, critical thinking.  I will always  remember Andy fondly and, no, we never did date. I may have "checked" him but we never "mated."

Why should you or your child learn chess? Read these reasons to play from the Connecticut State Chess Association.

• Chess dramatically improves a child's ability to think rationally.
• Chess increases cognitive skills.
• Chess improves children's communication skills and aptitude in recognizing patterns, therefore:
• Chess results in higher grades, especially in English and Math studies.
• Chess builds a sense of team spirit while emphasizing the ability of the individual.
• Chess teaches the value of hard work, concentration and commitment.
• Chess instills in young players a sense of self-confidence and self-worth.
• Chess makes a child realize that he or she is responsible for his or her own actions and must accept their consequences.
• Chess teaches children to try their best to win, while accepting defeat with grace.
• Chess provides an intellectual, competitive forum through which children can assert hostility, i.e. "let off steam," in an acceptable way.
• Chess can become a child's most eagerly awaited school activity, dramatically improving attendance.
• Chess allows girls to compete with boys on a non-threatening, socially acceptable plane.
• Chess helps children make friends more easily because it provides an easy, safe forum for gathering and discussion.
• Chess allows students and teachers to view each other in a more sympathetic way.
• Chess, through competition, gives kids a palpable sign of their accomplishments.
• Chess provides children with a concrete, inexpensive and compelling way to rise above the deprivation and self-doubt which are so much a part of their lives.

http://ctchess.com/?sect=why