The movie "Searching for Bobby Fisher"
helped make many people more aware about the educational benefits of
chess. The following article discusses some of the school-sponsored
chess projects currently underway around the country.
Berkeley, California
At more than a few schools around the country chess playing is being
promoted as an after school activity. One of the most successful after
school chess projects was launched about eleven years ago by a
parent-volunteer in Berkeley, California. Elizabeth Shaughnessy, a
former chess champion, organized an after school chess project at her
children's school in Berkeley. Her chess enrichment project has since
expanded to 30 other private and public schools in the Berkeley area.
New York City
The American Chess Foundation has also been getting into the game, with
their "Chess-In-the-Schools" project. This latter project promotes chess
playing "in inner city schools with high populations of at-risk
children."Teaming up with the Manhattan Chess Club, the American Chess
Foundation helps organize tournaments and arrange for chess instructors
to visit the New York City schools. Teachers have found that students
who become involved with chess develop a much improved attitude to their
academics.
The Palm Report
Back in 1990, the American Chess Foundation funded a study to
investigate the educational
benefits that accrue when inner-city students are introduced to chess. A
37-page study was
produced by educational researcher Christine Palm. Copies of this study
can be purchased from
the Foundation for $2 a piece. (Including postage). A discounted price
applies if you'd like to order
larger quantities of this study.
Here are a few inspiring quotes from the "Palm Report":
"The most wonderful thing about chess is
the way it transforms people from the inside out," believes John
Kennedy, a NYCHESS teacher who spends several hours each week in New
York schools like C.I.S. 166. "Once they're exposed to the instruction,
kids get chess fever. And once they get hooked, their desire to apply
themselves soars. The ability to concentrate -- really concentrate --
takes a quantum leap the minute chess sinks in." p. 14 "Then too, there
are equally dramatic stories of children blessed by good homes and
intellectual prowess. Along with the troubled kids, there are students
like K.K. Karanja, who at age 15 is a candidate master (the third
highest level of proficiency in chess) and the top player in his age
group in the United States. In the simultaneous match played last year
against World Champion Gary Kasparov at P.S. 132, the Bronx, Karanja
managed to draw." p. 19 "One of our Special Education students, Tracy
Elliott, was featured on the PBS series 'The Mind.' She was not playing
chess when she came to our Special Ed department. When the camera zeroed
in on Tracy's face, what you saw there was hard to describe. There is
something about the expression on her face in that film that lets you
know you can't leave her alone. You have to work with her to help her
develop her potential. With chess, it's so easy to see." Testimony by
Florence Mirin, teacher, C.I.S. 166, Roberto Clemente School. p. 25
"Chess is one of the most meaningful things I've ever seen enter the
school system. It's a tragedy the Board of Education can't do chess
throughout the schools." Testimony by Oscar Shapiro, parent of student
in P.S. 9 p. 27. The end of the Palm Report gives citations to articles
that have been written about the chess-in-the-schools project. One of
the most interesting sounding articles appeared in the June, 1989, issue
of Reader's Digest magazine. The title of this article is: "From Street
Kids to Royal Knights."
The Chess-in-Schools Video
Following the old maxim that "seeing is believing," the American Chess
Foundation has also produced an inspiring short video on the New York
chess-in-schools project. This eight minute video is available from the
Foundation for $10, postage included. The video starts off with an
interesting quote from Goethe: "Chess is the touchstone of the human
intellect," and then goes on to show live examples of chess-training
activities taking place in the New York City schools. One teacher in the
video comments: "Chess teaches patience, foresight, long-range planning,
and the ability to find alternative solutions." A special education
teacher, Nadine Kee, has the following to say about chess's influence on
her special needs students: "When students start playing chess, you can
see the [academic] improvement immediately. From the first day when a
child learns how to move a pawn, you'll a difference in their attitude,
their behavior, and their success in school." The video ends with
students briefly telling what the game of chess means to them. You can't
help be touched when one of the students earnestly says: "Chess, to me,
is like music to a musician." Educational Literature About Chess After
having viewed the chess-in-schools video and having read the "Palm
Report," I was curious to see what other articles or papers might have
been written on this subject. A search through the ERIC (Educational
Resources Information Center) database turned up two papers that had
in-depth discussions on the educational merits of chess.
The first paper I uncovered is a passionate position paper on the
educational merits of chess. Written in 1983 by Oregon junior high
principal Ralph L. Hall, the paper contains hauntingly eloquent remarks
about the educational value of chess. I jotted down notes from a few of
the more stirring passages: "Chess requires that individuals become
actively involved in a mentally demanding competition; its effects are
stimulating, wholesome, and healthy." "Chess is a game of 'quiet
intensity.'" "To the players, the game is like an unfolding drama.
Tension builds and a crisis is reached which decides whether or not
there will be a happy ending. The players live through the emotions of
an exciting story." "Chess masters subject themselves to much the same
kind of discipline as that of great music composers. Success at the
highest levels in both art forms comes from: constant practice and
study; memorizing; trying new ideas; developing a unique style; holding
to an unwavering faith in personal ability; and genius." "Chess success
is an intellectual achievement appropriate for schools. It belongs in
schools because: it is a fascinating game; it can provide a lifetime
hobby; it has international appeal; it requires a minimum of resources;
and, it demands that participants exercise their best powers of
planning, memory, decision-making, judgment, creativity, and
concentration. For these reasons alone, all schools should be providing
opportunities for the learning and practicing of chess." The second
article I uncovered was a 1986 paper, "Chess and Education," by Memphis
State University educational researchers Dianne Horgan and David Morgan.
Their writings examine chess as a game that helps reveal how expertise
develops in the human mind: "We are interested in the more general
question of how expertise develops. The classic expertise literature
includes studies of chess. In fact, chess has been called the 'fruitfly'
of cognitive psychology because of its centrality to our understanding
of cognition. Chess has been important in the study of thinking because
it pushes human information processing to the limits of their cognitive
abilities." p. 3
These researchers also examine chess playing ability as part of the
nature/nurture debate. They were particularly interested in finding
whether exceptional chess ability is inherited or learned. Rather
surprisingly, their research revealed that exceptional ability can
indeed be learned: "...we found at Auburndale, as well as at other
schools, a particular chess coach consistently produces strong players,
year after year --- even though the specific children move on. In most
cases, the parents [of these children] know little or nothing about
chess." p. 5
The information about the Berkeley, CA, chess in the schools program and
the American Chess Foundation's "chess-in-the-schools" project was
gleaned from an article by Michael Bassett in the 08/12/93 issue of
Education Daily, "Chess Programs Build Self-Esteen, Reading Skills of
At-Risk Kids]
