Information for Parents
Club Formation
Tournament Play
Rules of Chess
Information for Parents
Why should I introduce my
kids to chess?
Chess provides a unique combination of mental development, social enrichment and fun. Mental development is provided by promoting critical thinking,
abstract problem solving, forward thinking, internal visualization, etc.
Social enrichment is provided by teaching kids to pause and think before they
act, that losing is a part of life and it can be learned from, and that your
decisions/actions have direct consequences (kids are forced to accept the
responsibility for their actions because there are no refs, bad bounces, sore
knees, sun in their eyes, etc. that affect the outcome - although kids can
always come up with clever excuses, and in some cases, e.g. stomach ache,
there are valid ones). Of course fun is what makes it all work so well for
young kids, as they love games and competition. There are several studies verifying the benefits of chess for youth.
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What's the best way to get my child interested in chess?
Kids 1) love to play games and 2) get attention from their parents. If you
offer to play chess with your kid, odds are extremely good they will say yes.
I've found that leaving a chess board out in an
active area of the house will prompt either me or my kids to ask for a game. You can watch Brooklyn Castle on Netflix. And a chess adventure game like Fritz & Chesster 2 is also a fine way to get a young
child interested.
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How much will chess cost me?
One of the beauties of chess (like soccer) is how inexpensive the equipment
is. A standard scholastic set (solid plastic) costs under $10. Your costs
will be determined by how active your child is. Each Saturday tournament will cost
between $10 and $25 (early registration discounts are often available). Then there are the travel costs to tournaments, just as with
any other youth activity. Carpooling is obviously great if you can arrange
it. You might also decide to spend money for software or premium online
services. And investing in a chess clock can add a whole new dimension of fun.
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What are rated and unrated players?
Rated players are players that have previously played in a NW or US rated tournament. Most Saturday tournaments in Whatcom County are NW rated, as are the Hot Summer Chess and NWL Pre-Season tourneys. A rating is a rough estimate of playing strength, similar to golf or bowling handicaps. They also facilitate the pairing of tournaments.
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How do ratings work?
Ratings are a numerical metric of how a player performs relative to other
players. It's been refined over many decades. Online you can find discussions of the NW rating system and even USCF's actual algorithm. The
computation is a function of how many points you receive at a tournament
(win=1, draw=0.5, loss=0) and the average rating of the kids you played. If
you win half of your games against players of similar ratings then your
rating will be unchanged. If you come into a tournament unrated and win half
of your games, your rating will be equal to the average rating of your
opponents.
Once your rating is established, for a given tournament the
ratings algorithm produces an expected number of points that you should
achieve based on the ratings of the kids you played. If you exceed that expectation
your rating goes up, and if you fall short of that expectation your rating
goes down. Depending on your competition, you could win only 1 of 5 games and
have your rating go up or vice-versa. A player 400 pts better than another should win about 90% of the time, a
player 800 pts better than another should win about 99% of the time.
Early in a
kid's chess career, their ratings can fluctuate wildly (so don't get
overly excited or depressed), but after several tournaments they become
better established and are a fairly good measure of a kid's progress. Adult ratings go from 0 to 3000 (theoretically), and the average adult tournament chessplayer is rated 1500. The world champion, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, is rated around 2850.
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How can I find my child's rating?
Northwest ratings can be found at Chess Ratings NorthWest. Ratings are updated usually within a week after an event. Besides individual ratings, they have Tournament Reports pages, a School Report tool where you can see all rated players from a school, and the Top Ten In Each Grade list. To see a cool graph and analysis of your NW rating progress, visit MyRating, which also has a Top Ten function.
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Where is the best place for my kids to play chess
online?
There are several options. Good options include Chess.com (for kids 13 and older) and ChessKid.com (for kids 12 and younger). Both
Chess.com and ChessKid.com allow kids to play chess for free. "Online" or "slow" chess allows players to move over the course of days (in the past referred
to as correspondence chess, where people would mail moves back and forth to each
other). "Live chess" is real time, like a real tournament game, with time
controls used for both players. Both options have their pros and cons. Online
chess gives kids an opportunity to think as long as they want about a move,
and even use an "analyze" tool that lets them move pieces around and
explore options. Live chess is better experience for playing in tournaments,
although it requires a reliable internet connection. With any online option, always
be aware of any chatting features or other ways that information can be
transmitted. ChessKid.com is the safest in this regard. Teach your kids not
to disclose their name, address, age, etc.
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What is the best online site for my kids to learn and improve?
Actually playing chess is a vital component to improving. Again, ChessKid.com and Chess.com are good options for playing. In addition to playing they also have top tier training components, such as tactics puzzles, videos, articles and lessons. Each site has a free option, and a paid option with increased access.
Perhaps you judge that your child would do well in a "classroom" setting with a structured curriculum, using ordered lesson plans that cover chess in a less freestyle, exploratory way. Good options here include ZoomChess for pre-readers or early readers (instruction is given verbally), and for readers, Chess Magnet School, Chessity, Chess Mentor, Learning Chess or Chesscademy.
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What is the best computer software for my kids to learn
chess?
Learn to Play Chess With Fritz and Chesster is a popular series. The first teaches the game, the second and third teach basic strategy and tactics. For middle and high schoolers, any recent Chessmaster program is a good investment, chock full of great lessons by various authors using various styles. Some coaches appreciate Majestic Chess, an adventure game where chess puzzles must be solved to advance the plot.
Elliott's Chess School is an excellent series of instructional DVDs, and you can "try before you buy", since they are available in the Whatcom County Library System. Fun fact: Elliott Neff, founder of Chess4Life in Seattle and the featured instructor, is originally from Lynden!
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What are the best chess apps for my kids to learn chess?
Here's a few good ones to get you started: Coach Jay's Chess Academy, Judit Polgar's Chess Playground, ChessKid.com, Dinosaur Chess, Solitaire Chess, and Chess Wizard.
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Where can I get a scholastic chess set, and clock?
You are referring to the solid plastic pieces and vinyl roll-up boards used at local tournaments and at most scholastic chess clubs. You'll find them online, i.e. at Chess House and Wholesale Chess. The heavier the better. Consider investing in a good bag as well. For clocks, see the Chess Clock Buying Guide.
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What are blitz and bughouse?
Blitz is usually a chess game where both players get five minutes on their clock
with no delay. Rules can vary, but one of the most important to know is that
in most blitz tournaments an illegal move, such as leaving your king in check, automatically loses the game
(provided the opponent calls it before he/she makes their own move). Usually,
the game is played by clock move instead of touch move, so a move is not
complete until you hit your clock. Blitz or speed chess can be played with any
time setting less than 30 minutes.
Bughouse is a popular chess variation where two
players play blitz as a team. When you take one of your opponent's
pieces, you hand it to your partner. Your partner then has the option to place
the piece in any open square on his board instead of making a standard move.
The game is over when checkmate (or the taking of the king due to an illegal
move) occurs on either board.
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Is kindergarten too early to learn chess?
No, even pre-K children can learn chess, especially if it's a fun, low-stress activity they can do with their parents, siblings or peers, at a leisurely pace, one piece at a time. Many Saturday tournaments feature a Kindergarten-1st grade division. Kindergarten players who post a winning record in a Saturday tourney are qualified to enter the Washington State Elementary Championships, which typically attracts around 80 players in the Kindergarten division.
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Tournament Play
Do I have to bring a chess set and a clock to a scholastic
tournament?
It is always a good idea to bring a chess set to a tournament. Some
tournaments provide boards for the players, but even then it is useful for
side/fun games (skittles) or for going over an earlier game with a
coach/parent or friend. If you have a chess clock you should bring it to the
tournament. Children should learn how to use a chess clock as it is part of
the game. In Whatcom County Saturday tournaments, typically they're optional in the elementary sections and required in the middle and high school sections.
Chess clocks typically run in the $35-$100 range. Chess clocks may
be obtained online (see Chess Clock Buying Guide).
Different tournaments have different policies regarding the use of clocks.
Get clarity before the tournament starts at the players
meeting. There are two basic kinds of chess clocks: analog and digital.
Digital clocks have more flexibility and ways to set them for delays, etc and
are preferred. They are generally a little more expensive than the simpler,
analog clocks. Warning: Chess clocks may break when
they are dropped. They are also easily misplaced or forgotten. Put your name on
your clock.
For games that run long without a clock, the Tournament Director
will generally put clocks on games with approximately 20 minutes remaining to
assure that rounds finish on time (each player gets 10 minutes). The TD
should ask both players if they know how the clock works, and give an
explanation, if necessary. Clocks must remain running at all times, except
when a Tournament Director is called by either player to resolve a dispute.
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Why is it important to pre-register for a tournament?
Tournament organizers are almost always volunteers. It is tremendously
helpful to them to know how many people to expect at the tournament and also
not to have a rush at the door on the day of the tournament. Thus most Whatcom County Saturday tournaments do not even accept entries on the day of the tournament. Others have a
monetary penalty for signing up late. Please do the tournament organizers a
favor and register early. Note that even if you pre-register, you still must check in at the tourney site before the stated time, or you will not get to play in the first round.
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What are tie breaks? How do they work?
When awarding trophies it is often necessary that a tiebreak system be used
to distinguish the winners. Tiebreak systems use various methods to determine the strength of each player's opponents. The tougher your opposition throughout the tournament, the better your tiebreak points. If the primary tiebreak system (Modified Median) leaves players tied, a second system (Solkoff) is employed, and sometimes (rarely) a third system (Cumulative) is needed. Here's an explanation of the various tiebreak methods.
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How do pairings work?
Virtually all chess tournaments are paired using the Swiss System. The rules that
govern this system are too numerous and complex to address here, however,
they are covered in detail in the U.S. Chess Federation's Official Rules of
Chess book.
Here are the basics for the Swiss Pairing System. Before the
first round, each player is placed on the pairing sheet based on his or her
rating. Players are listed from the highest rated to the lowest rated.
Unrated players are placed below the lowest rated. To start the first round, the group is split in half and the top half
plays the bottom half. For example, if 20 players are entered in a section of
a tournament, the highest ranked player plays the 11th ranked player in round
1, the second-highest ranked player plays the 12th highest, etc. If there are
an odd number of players, then the lowest rated player receives a bye.
Players are awarded one point for a win, forced bye or forfeit; a half point for a
draw or requested bye; and zero points for a loss. Each subsequent round,
each score-group (players with the same score) has the top half paired against the bottom half. For example, if
6 players have 2 points after the second round, the first in the group plays
the fourth in the group, 2nd versus 5th and 3rd versus 6th. If two players
have 1.5 points, they play each other (unless they have already played or
another exclusion). Players with 1 point play each other, etc. Unfortunately,
this is not as easy as it appears. There are many exceptions that confuse
pairings. There are rules that attempt to correct pairings so that players
play an even (or almost even) number of times as black as they do as white. The pairings program attempts to avoid pairings between
members of the same school. Some exclusion rules are more powerful
than others, the strongest being if the two players have already played.
As a
result of this system, the games get more even as the tournament goes on, so
there tend to be more draws in later rounds and more intense competition as
well. This is because both opponents have the same score (or close to it) in
each round and those that are doing well play others that are also doing
well. The converse is also true.
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What does G/45 or G/30 mean?
This is the time control that is used in the tournament, or the amount of
time a player has to complete all of their moves. In Whatcom County, most tournaments games don't start with clocks until middle school. There are several types of time controls. For
Scholastics, sudden death time controls are the most common. G/45 means that
each player gets 45 minutes to complete his or her moves. Chess clocks
maintain two times, one for each player. When a player finishes their move, they "hit the clock", which stops their clock and
starts their opponents clock. Children should be counseled to ask if they have
questions before the match starts. In general, most beginners have plenty of
time for their games and the clock should not be an issue. Many times
beginners think they have to rush because of the clock. The best advice a
parent can give to a beginner is to take their time and not worry about the
clock.
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What is a 5-second delay?
A 5-second delay means that a player's clock does not start to count down
until after 5 seconds have passed. Most digital clocks have this feature,
which is nice because if a player is clearly winning, he/she has a chance to
complete the game even if very low on time. Scholastic
tournaments prefer the use of digital clocks set for a 5 second delay.
Usually, the TD will request that if you are starting a game using delay, that you take five
minutes off of each players clock, because for a typical long game the delay will add about 5 minutes of playing time. Thus a G/30 time control means that a 5-second delay clock would start with 25 minutes for each player.
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How long do tournaments last?
Tournament lengths vary. A typical elementary Saturday tournament in Whatcom County allows one hour per round and fifteen minutes between rounds. Some tournaments try to move the rounds
along shortly after the previous round finishes (which is very beneficial
when younger kids are involved). So parents, enjoy a day with your child, and bring a hobby or a good book. Don't leave the tournament site for any
extended period of time without checking with the tournament director, for if a
round ends early, the next round may start early, and you may
forfeit the game or have to play it with a time disadvantage. Finally, you
should leave time for the awards ceremony, which usually starts ten minutes
after the last round is completed, and should take about twenty minutes or so.
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Is it okay to register (move-up) my kid to a harder section, or higher grade section?
Most tournaments allow kids to play in sections above
where there grade or rating would dictate. Some parents and coaches think that playing
against harder competition will make their kid improve faster, but in general the
best way to improve is play someone of a similar skill level. Plus it is also important
for kids to learn how to focus and consistently beat lower rated opponents.
For scholastic players, winning games is the best motivator for playing chess, and playing up
in a harder section might make them lose confidence and interest. Winning games will provide positive reinforcement
that their practice has indeed paid off. "Playing up" does make sense if your child is very high rated for their age. If
you want your child to get experience against harder players, you can travel to the many Vancouver BC or Seattle tournaments for both youth and adults.
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What is the most important thing I can tell my child going
into their first tournament?
1) Take your time. 2) Raise your hand if you have a question of any kind, and
keep your hand up until you are seen -- the Tournament Directors are there to
help and will assist in getting problems resolved. 3) Make sure you agree
with your opponent about the result of the game before you shake hands to end
the game. 4) Have fun.
Skill wise, students should know how to checkmate with the Queen when they're way ahead in material, and know how to defend against Scholar's Mate, the four move checkmate trap.
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What is a half-point or full-point bye?
When there are an odd number of players in a division, there will be one
player in each round who won't get a game. This player will get a full-point bye (as if they had won
their game) for that game. If a player knows in advance that they
cannot participate in a round, they may request a 1/2-point bye for those games
that they will not be able to attend. Final round byes must be requested before the semi-final round starts. Byes and forfeits
do not affect ratings.
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What is keeping score or taking notation?
Keeping score (notation) is the recording of every move in a chess game -
both yours and your opponents. The most common form of score keeping is algebraic
notation, which is relatively simple. The pieces are designated by a single
letter: K for king, Q for queen, R for rook, B for bishop and N for knight
(if no symbol is given then the move was made by a pawn). The positions on
the board are designated by files (columns) from
'a' to 'h', and ranks (rows) from 1 to 8. There are other styles of notation also. There are several reasons why taking notation is a good
idea. First, some chess rules are not enforceable without a valid scoresheet.
Examples are the three move repetition rule and the 50 move rule. Another good
reason for younger kids to keep score is that it can slow them down and cause
them to think more about their moves. Perhaps the best reason for keeping
score is so that the child can go over the game after the tournament and
learn from it.
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Does my child have to take notation?
For scholastic tournaments, the tournament director decides the score keeping
requirements. Typically in Whatcom County, middle school sections require notation and elementary school sectinos do not. At recent USCF national tournaments, score keeping has been
required for grades 4 and above. For all ages, if there are less
than 5 minutes left in the round on either player's clock, then both players are
no longer required to keep score.
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As a parent, what should I expect when I bring my child to
a chess tournament?
As a parent, you can expect a lot of spare time on your hands. You might bring reading
material and be prepared to keep your child fed. You are responsible for
the child when they are outside the playing area. It's important
that kids (and adults!) are quiet when near the playing area. For
beginning chess players, the children will be in the playing area a shorter time than the more experienced players, as they tend to move faster. As they gain experience, their games will be longer and there will be
more reading time for you as a parent. See also Clatskanie Chess Club's Tournaments - How They Work.
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Why does my child have to wait at the board if the other
child does not show up?
Standard chess rules allow players to show up late. In an elementary section with no clocks, typically a game will be declared a forfeit win if the opponent does not show up in ten minutes. If there is an extra "Bye" player, that player might replace the missing player. In a clocked section, the missing player's clock will be started, so when they arrive they will be playing with a time handicap.
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How do I read a pairing chart?
The pairings chart shows who is to play whom for each round. A new one is
posted before the round begins and the players need to look to determine two
things from the pairing chart. They need to see what board number they are
playing on and which color they will be, black or white.
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How do I read a standings or wall chart?
A wall chart or standings report shows each player's current score in the tournament. It will list the player's opponents in each round - designated by the number listed to the left of their name the chart. The
chart often shows the color the player had. Don't confuse the "W" for
White as a win. Results might be listed in the form of cumulative
score, summing up the 1=win, 0=loss, 0.5=draw/bye from each successive round, so
how a player did in a specific round is determined by subtracting the
previous rounds score.
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Should I get an even number of rounds as white and as
black?
The pairings software attempts to give players an equal number of games with the white and black pieces. In a typical five round tournament, players should finish the tournament having had one color three times, and the other color two times. This is not always possible, for example, when all undefeated players are due the same color. The software also attempts to avoid giving players the same color three times in a row, although this is not high in the software's hierarchy of priorities.
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What is a State Qualifier tournament?
Most elementary level Saturday tournaments in Whatcom County are State Qualifers. The largest chess tournament in the state every year is not the Washington Open, the Seafair Open or the State High School Team Championships, it's the State Elementary Championships. It attracts over 1000 young players each year. To attend, players have to first qualify by posting a winning record (usually three points) in a qualifying tournament. To qualify for Elementary State, a Washington student "in grades 1-6 must score at least 3/5 in a WSRS-rated Scholastic Chess Tournament in Washington State with at least six players and three or more schools participating per section. Players in Grade K need to score 2/5 in a divison which includes K-2 players." (WSECC)
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Rules of Chess
What is the touch move - touch take rule?
"Touch Move" means if you touch a piece when it is your turn to move, that piece must be moved
if you can do so legally. "Touch Take" means if you touch an opponent's piece when it is your
turn to move, the opponent's piece must be captured if you can do so legally. Touch Move does not apply if you accidentally brush a piece with your sleeve, for example. If you want to adjust a piece, you may do so on your turn only by first saying "I adjust" or "J'adoube". If you accidentally release a piece on an unintended but legal square, you
must leave it on that square.
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What is the threefold repetition rule?
If the same board position occurs three times, then a game can be claimed as a
draw by either player (but does not have to be). Normally, a score sheet is
needed to make this claim, unless both opponents agree on the result or a TD
verifies the claim. Note that the position must be identical over the entire board
- some kids often interpret the rule only based on their own pieces. Also, the three positions do not have to be consecutive - the
rule applies if the same position arises three times at any time over the course
of the game.
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What is the 50 move rule?
If fifty moves are made by each side without the advance of a pawn or the capture of a
piece, then a game can be claimed as a draw. Normally, a score sheet is
needed to make this claim, unless both opponents agree on the result or a TD
verifies the clam. A player can call a TD over to count moves if one is
available.
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What are the rules for castling?
Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook on the
player's first rank, then moving the rook onto the square over which the king
crossed. Castling can only be done if 1) the king has never moved, 2) the
rook involved has never moved, 3) the squares between the king and the rook
involved are not occupied, and 4) the king is not in check nor does it cross
over or end on a square in which it would be in check.
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What is en passant?
En passant is a special capture made immediately after a player moves a pawn
two squares forward from its starting position, and an opposing pawn could
have captured it if it had moved only one square forward. The resulting position is the same as
if the pawn had only moved one square forward and the opposing pawn had
captured normally. The en passant capture must be done on the very next turn,
or the right to do so is lost.
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Why does my opponent say "I adjust"?
Players are required to say "I adjust" before they adjust the
placement of a piece on the board, otherwise the action could be interpreted
under the touch move rule and they'd be forced to move the piece. Players sometimes adjust their pieces if a piece is not reasonably centered on
a square. The proper time to adjust is on your own move, not your opponent's. Some people say j'adoube, the internationally accepted term, which is French for "I adjust".
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Club Formation
I want my child to play chess, but there is no chess club
at my school or nearby.
The best answer is -- start your own club! It's not as
hard as you'd think, you don't have to know how to play, and it is very rewarding. Get the kids together and they will practically teach themselves. Also, your child can learn with you at home and/or online. And, if they attend the Saturday tournaments in Whatcom County, it's likely that they will
develop some chess friends among their peers at these tournaments.
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I'm convinced of the benefits chess has to offer, what's
the best way to volunteer?
There are many ways to help create and maintain a healthy scholastic chess
program in our community. Best is to be a chess club organizer in your child's school.
If you are fortunate enough to already have
a scholastic chess club, you can volunteer as a parent helper during chess club or
tournaments. Even if you unable to get a scholastic club going yourself, it is worthwhile to mention
to your kid's teachers, principal and other parents that you wish there was a
chess club at your school. Enough requests might encourage someone else to organize a club.
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What do I need to do to start a chess club?
All that is needed to start a chess club is a venue with tables/chairs and
some chess sets. Good scholastic club chess sets (solid pieces/board/bag) cost under 10 dollars. If cost is an issue, you can approach your PTA for funds, or borrow sets on club day from a neighboring school. A school principal should be glad to reserve you space on a weekly time slot if you ask. The school should help you advertise the club in the school with flier printing and newsletter publicity. An optimal time to have chess club is right after
school (any weekday) -- this will get the most attendance. This may be problematic for you and other potential volunteers, so if you need to have chess club at another time, any time is infinitely better than no chess club at all. For more encouragement and ideas, see the links below.
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Should our chess club host a chess tournament?
You would be providing a wanted and beneficial service for area kids and your group, as the demand is present, it's a fundraiser, and there is a shortage of open scholastic chess tournaments in Whatcom County. You would need to secure the venue, order awards, and assemble a team of volunteers for registration, concessions and floor judging. Email Randy Kaech for help picking a date and further questions.
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I would consider being a chess club coach or sponsor, but I don't play chess.
This is the most common misconception among parents. You do not have to know
anything about chess to start and maintain a very successful chess club! All that
is required is a commitment and a little enthusiasm. It's helpful to know the
rules of chess, but they are surprisingly simple and can be learned in less
than one hour. If you provide a venue and a supervised/positive environment,
then the kids will take care of the rest. They can teach themselves and each
other by simply playing chess games (and even better if some of them can learn at
home or on computer). "I started volunteering/coaching with essentially no
chess experience; I've learned with the kids and there are still at least four
players in the club who are better than I am. And many players have
progressed to be the best players in the state without what would be
considered a real coach." (NM Chess)
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Regarding Starting a Chess Club:
From UT Dallas: Do I Really Want To Start A Scholastic Chess Club?
From CheezWhizz: Taking Chess to the Children -- One Dad's Story
From Rockford, IL: Starting a Scholastic Chess Club - Where to start?
For further reading:
Studies linking scholastic chess with increased math-verbal aptitudes - Benefits of Chess for Youth
FAQ from Pennsylvania -- Dan Heisman's Parent FAQ
Clatskanie Chess Club -- Tournaments - How They Work
Many thanks to NM Chess for FAQ content and suggestions.