Program Overview

Through chess instruction, program participants will be encouraged to enhance abilities in the following areas:

Academics 

Chess directly contributes to academic performance. Chess makes kids smarter.             

Focus

Children are taught the benefits of observing carefully and concentrating. If they don’t watch what is happening, they can’t respond to it, no matter how smart they are.

Visualization 

Children are prompted to imagine a sequence of actions before it happens. Chess actually strengthens the ability to visualize by training children to shift the pieces in their mind,  first one, and then several moves ahead.

Thinking  Ahead

Children are taught to think first, and then act. Chess  teaches  them  to  ask themselves  “If  I  do  this,  what  might  happen  then,  and  how  can  I  respond?”  Over time,  chess helps develop patience and thoughtfulness.

Weighing  Options 

Children are taught that they don’t have to do the first thing that pops into their mind. They learn to identify alternatives and consider the pros and cons of various actions.

Critical  Analysis 

Children learn to evaluate the results of specific actions and sequences.  Does this sequence help me or hurt me? Decisions are better when guided by logic, rather than impulse.

Abstract  Thinking 

Children are taught to step back periodically from details and consider the bigger picture.  They also learn to take patterns used in one context and apply them to different, but related situations.

Planning 

Children are taught to develop longer-range goals and take steps toward bringing them about.  They are also taught of the need to reevaluate their plans as new developments change the situation.

Multi-Tasking 

Children are encouraged not to become overly absorbed in any one consideration, but to try to weigh various factors all at once.