 The raison d'être of this site was to assist non-chess playing teachers to set up chess clubs in school. Particularly in the Primary Sector there is a call for schools to get youngsters interested in the game. It has been shown to improve children's concentration, learning abilities and behaviour. It therefore is an asset to the child (and the child's school!) if s/he is offered an opportunity to learn the game.
I have tried to include as many features within this site as possible that should make setting up a chess club within school as easy as possible. The 'resource assets' include:
- an assembly that you could use to raise awareness of your 'Chess Club'
- worksheets that develop design and technology, literary and mathematical skills; extending vocabulary, improving spatial awareness, detection of mathematical patterns and application of mathamatical co-ordinates. They also widen a child's appreciation of Western culture.
 whiteboard resources- a cyber-chessboard that can be used to play out games or teach strategy; PowerPoint presentations that go through the key features of the initial stages - plus it is very easy to show pages from the site itself on the whiteboard.- 'can do' sheets that can be used to record a child's progress and reward learning.
- 'do-it-yourself' chessboards - to help those who do not yet have the financial backing of the school governors, I have included worksheets that children can use to 'make' their own chessboards and sets (with a bit of glue, a pair of scissors and some colouring crayons). I have also included a cyber-chess set - a Flash graphic swf chessboard with pieces. You can use these with the school computers. Their use will help develop 'mouse-skills'.
- work from home - the child can access the site from home and work through strategies with parents and siblings to reinforce the work you have done at school.
I hope that you will take advantage of my offer of help and set up a club within your school and encourage as many youngsters as possible to take up the challenge of becoming a chess player. Not only will it benefit them, it will benefit you too!
Benefits of Playing Chess
It can raise IQ |
A study of 4,000 Venezuelan students produced significant rises in the IQ scores of both boys and girls after 4 months of chess instruction.
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It helps prevent Alzheimer's |
A recent study featured in The New England Journal of Medicine found that people over 75 who engage in brain-stretching activities like chess are less likely to develop dementia than their non-board-game-playing peers.
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It helps develop both sides of the brain |
German researchers showed chess experts and novices simple geometric shapes and chess positions and measured the subjects' reactions in identifying them. They expected to find the experts' left brains being much more active, but they did not expect the right hemisphere of the brain to do so as well. Their reaction times to the simple shapes were the same, but the experts were using both sides of their brains to more quickly respond to the chess position questions.
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It increases your creativity |
A four-year study had students from Y7 to Y9 play chess, use computers, or do other activities once a week for 32 weeks to see which activity fostered the most growth in creative thinking. The chess group scored higher in all measures of creativity, with originality being their biggest area of gain.
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It improves your memory |
In a two-year study in 1985, young students who were given regular opportunities to play chess improved their grades in all subjects, and their teachers noticed better memory and better organizational skills in the kids. A similar study of Pennsylvania sixth-graders found similar results. Students who had never before played chess improved their memories and verbal skills after playing.
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DISCLAIMER: The information given in this site is presented in good faith, but the site-author is human and does make mistakes! Should you find anything that you believe is in error please notify the Webmaster of your finding. 