Lecompton Elementary School Chess Club
by David Paden, Gifted Program Teacher
April 11, 2008
The idea started with Isaac Hendrickson, Mrs. Tate’s 3rd grade, asking why we couldn’t start a chess club. Isaac helped me survey the 3rd and 4th grades for interest and found that many were interested in getting a club started. An inexpensive source of good chess sets was found and a plan was made for meeting two nights a week to accommodate the large number of students interested. Then, with the help of Jamie Messer in Mr. Brown’s 4th grade, I put together a formal proposal to Mrs. Keagy, who then approved the plan and ordered the chess sets.
The result is that we now have 40 students divided into three groups that meet to learn and play chess between 3:00 and 3:20 on Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday afternoons. We have many students who are learning to play. Five fourth graders, Aaron Chenhall, Jamie Messer, Josh Schmidt, Connor Nichols, and Peyton Kahle are volunteering to help teach the rules to the new players.
Although the time is short, the students make good use of the time, settling into their games quickly and getting their equipment carefully put away at the end of the session. Students can play for fun, or request coaching from me to try to improve their strategies.
Parents that are interested in encouraging their children’s chess development are encouraged to check out the United States Chess Federation’s website at http://main.uschess.org/ They have youth memberships that include a magazine called Chess Life for Kids that includes puzzles for students to solve. https://secure.uschess.org/webstore/index.php
