Need Help Getting Kids To Take Chess SERIOUSLY...

Chess is an integral part of our church's work with youth.  It teaches how to plan and think logically, which in turn helps the kids in their future endeavors.  Learning to think about consequence and timing is a much needed life skill.

Jaggededge, I agree with you 100%.  Whether or not these kids ever get serious about chess or even keep it up as a hobby later in life, the logical and analytical skills you develop in chess are invaluable.  Strategizing, planning ahead, looking at the big picture.

I wouldn't even worry about how to get the kids to "take it seriously".  I would just try to keep them coming back :)

AndyClifton, thank you for the reply.  My apologies if it sounds like a mixed message.

"Are you really?  I'm definitely getting a mixed message from your reply.  After all, "solace" doesn't make it sound like you're terribly pleased; nor would you need to feel you are "planting a seed" if you were truly content to see them not taking the game seriously."

Who is ever truly content?  That's a rarity in the world, and that's why I didn't use that choice of words.  I said, I'm pleased if they are a fan of chess.  If a kid comes to the club and wants to play chess, I'm pleased with that.  If a kid comes to the club and wants to practice, learn, and improve, I'm pleased with that as well.  Both are wins in my book, but certainly one pleases me more.  So yes, I stand by my words.

brettregan1, I feel that you are projecting the aspects and characteristics of others you know or have heard of on me.  Your post is filled with assumptions that are rather incorrect.  I am not at all the type of teacher who is advising the students to play/study chess 24/7.  I never said that.  I never said such words to imply that either.

"- I say please don't lose your focus - your main job should be to instill in your kids the love of learning - teaching them how to find their way in life"

My focus is not lost, but spot on.  My attempt is to use a student's interest in chess to further teach them the love of learning, and to instill in them the principle that hard work can help them achieve and improve.  If they find that by studying (some) chess and improving, it is a shorter leap for them to realize that they can apply such principles in every aspect of their life.

With the students at my chess club, some of them are not involved in other sports or extra curriculars.  Opening up the chess club to them is for some, the one thing that they actively participate in.  Some of them also do not have very good grades.  It would be my hope that by encouraging them to apply themselves to the game that they would then earn success with it...and then start realizing that the same could be true with their school work.

Here's a very worthy question that I think you should consider:

"- I think chess is actually one of the biggest wastes of time known to man ( or women )"

If you feel that chess is one of the biggest wastes of time, where on such a list would you rank spending time on a chess website in order to talk about chess, and more specifically, criticize those who are attempting to use it to help our youth?

Better yet, don't answer that one.  I care not to read further words from you, and shall ignore them from this point on.

205thsq, thanks for the tip!  I'm looking into Chess 960 right now.  Thanks!

If you're worried about the bottom rung of the ladder, why not have a lower base? Have only posted a top 5 or 10 or whatever fraction of the group fits best. Everybody else would be ground level. Anybody wanting to get on the ladder would have to challenge the lowest rung and win. This way, nobody is singled out as the worst.

That's how we decide who plays which board on our highschool chess team.  I think it is an effective approach, but who makes the practices more often than others should also be taken into consideration for those who take it more seriously than others.

lol...A typical response from the ritually polite nowadays:  act like you're welcoming any and all opinions, then show your close-mindedness in the end.

Personally I've heard all this business about how chess allegedly teaches you the love of learning and gives you confidence and enables you to be well-rounded and so forth.  It certainly didn't in my case.  How is becoming enamored of a decidedly fringe activity (especially the way it is considered by others in grade school) likely to boost one's confidence?

To me, chess is fun, something to do...to socialize, to go hang out with friends and have a few beers with some good eats.

But being in the setting you are in, no doubt beer is out of the question. With politics and sullbhit at every corner in this world, I say chess is a great way to escape all that nonsense.

If people want to improve, then let them. If they want to play for fun as a means to relax, then let them. Just hang in there, sooner or later you're going to have a few buddies that you will find playing chess with on a regular basis.

I'd think that if somebody was naturally talented at chess, they would naturally take a strong interest in it. No coaxing required.

I definitely like the way you think. You are 95% right, Chess is as good for students as a Spectrum or MSX was for me for school (I only used it to play videogames but I convinced my dad I was going to use it for school).It's business, my friend. 

I have taught Chess to a number of children, the best ones were already good students, the bad ones continued to be bad students. Problems like hyperactive disorder or a drunk father cannot be solved by Chess. However, there's a minority who find out they can beat nerds at Chess, or become good friends with nerds, and it can be useful to them.

The exceptionally gifted find Chess challenging. They can pass all the subjects at school easily and then they discover Chess, a beast that cannot be tamed, a land that cannot be fully explored, but they don't know it, they feel challenged and try to solve Chess.

I had a couple of them and the difference with the regular children was huge, they could learn K vs K+P endgames just by explaining it once, for instance. It took me 1 hour and a half to learn it :)

They could also stay focused for about 2 hours, while the normal ones...

While the normal ones threw pieces at each other. :)

My idea would be to increase the competition.  In house tournaments / ratings / ladder all seem like good ideas.  At the same time I'd make learning tools readily available even if it's just links to chess articles or puzzles a handout.  I suppose the drawback to this approach is you'd eventually drive off the casual players.

As for doing puzzles a big demo board may make it fun.  At the beginning of the session you could have the problem position on the board and invite a student to solve it in front of everyone and answer any questions (e.g. what about ____ move).

Somewhat off topic, but as for the idea that improving in (vs just playing) chess being able to teach life lessons, I don't agree.  A casual interest and a few games are all it take to provide some object lessons.  To get better at chess means to learn about chess.  Not logic, or patience, or planning ahead or any of that.  It's actually a lot of work... chess work.  You play games, review games, and read chess books.  All this to say that (at least in my opinion) a passing interest in chess is still useful in teaching those peripheral lessons educators and parents are so fond of associating with the game.

Or at the teacher...

Oh, so this is why you'd like to see them to learn and improve.  Well I think this is a great goal, I wish you success! 

I don't think learn K vs K+P endgames is a sign of talent. I learn it by playing it after a post here asking if it is a draw or win, and in some seconde I see is a draw, and I've absolutely no talent, I'm a complete patzer. Sure, I don't know opposition because I studied it after, but it is a simple endgame. It would be a sign of talent if they could learn difficult rook endings.

I'm sure that was just one small example.

Yes, it was only a small example I could think of :)

the boy was 7, and I taught him that in his second week learning Chess, so he started from scratch. I told him the moves with the white king, the moves with the pawn and the moves with the black king. Basically he played both sides. It must be about 20 moves to memorise. He got it right at once. He also learned tabiyas of about 12-15 moves for black and white at once. He started the course 2 months late. In 2 weeks he caught up with the rest.

So where's he at now?