CHESS AT PS11
Home of the Chelsea ChessMates
Chess is ALL over the place here at PS11.
PS11 has Chess for beginners on Wednesdays as part of PS11 Programs.
PS11 has Chess-in-the-Schools in class instruction on Fridays for the 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms.
PS11 has a Nationally ranked chess team that practices on Tuesdays and Fridays as well as going to tournaments throughout the city and even the Nationals.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
2012 Nationals
PS11 had a great showing in Nashville this weekend winning trophies for placing 14th and 16th in the National Elementary Chess Championship. The Chelsea Chessmates placed 14th in the K-5 Under 900 section led by Marc Hodorov and 16th in the K-3 Under 800 Section ledy by Remy and Edison Routh. A link to the results is here http://www.uschess.org/tournaments/2012/elem/?page=RESULTS
2011 Nationals
PS11 comes home with two National trophies: 16th place in K-3 under 800, and 14th place in K-5 under 900. The Chelsea ChessMates 3rd grade team wins 6th place at the grade level Nationals in Dallas Texas! Click here to see the You-Tube Video of our trip.
The Mayor's Cup was played for the first time at PS11, see this article DNAinfo.Com
Check out these articles about a GREAT chess middle school here in NYC: IS318k
In the NY Times: At Brooklyn's IS318 The Cool Kids are the Chess Champs
In the Daily News: Brooklyn champion school chess team held in check by lack of funds
So Who Are the Chelsea ChessMates?
Well, the students of PS11 are!
CLICK HERE to Download the Chess Team Permission Slip,
HELPFUL LINKS FOR CHESS PLAYERS:
Chess in the Schools (CIS) is a non-proffit that PS11 is closely associated with.
Go to their site to see info on CIS tournaments, top rated student players in NYC, and all about their programs.
www.chessintheschools.org
Great Place to Play the Computer www.ludochess.com/jester_eng/jester_eng.html
French Challenge http://matpat.ac-rennes.fr/news/
Though this site is currently blocked in NYC public Schools, PS11 has played schools in France on this site.
New York Chess Kids www.nychesskids.com/main/
New York Chess Kids is a for profit organization that teaches in NYC public schools and has tournaments. They also have a great online chess game anyone can play.
United States Chess Federation www.uschess.org/images/splash-homepage/splash.php
Go here to see ratings and info on Nationals.
Wikipedia explains chess http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess
Chess Homework
Chess Puzzles www.kidchess.com/puzzles/puzzles.html
More Chess Puzzles www.bartsoft.com/chesspuzzles/
WHY CHESS?
Chess is one of the most powerful educational tools available to strengthen a child’s mind. Chess can enhance concentration, patience and perseverance as well as develop creativity, intuition, memory, and importantly, the ability to analyze and deduce from a set of general principles while learning to make tough decisions and solve problems flexibly.
Playing chess requires intense concentration. For young players, chess teaches the rewards of concentration as well as providing immediate penalties for concentration lapses. Few teaching tools provide such quick feedback. A slip in concentration can lead to a simple blunder, perhaps even ending the game. Only, a focused, patient and persistent child will maintain steady results – characteristics that are equally valuable for performing well at school, especially in school exams.
The internet, email and computers are rapidly changing the skills essential to succeed at school and work. As globalization accelerates, information is pouring in faster and faster. Information that took months to track down a few years ago can now spin off the internet in just seconds. With such easy access and tremendous volumes, the ability to choose effectively among a wide variety of options is ever more vital. Students must increasingly be able to respond flexibly and critically. They must be able to wade through and synthesize vast amounts of information, not just memorize chunks of it. They must learn to recognize what is relevant and what is irrelevant. They also need to acquire the skills to be able to learn new technologies quickly as well as solve a continual stream of problems with these new technologies.
This is where chess as a tool to develop the minds of children appears to be especially powerful. By its very nature chess presents an ever-changing set of problems. Except for the very beginning of the game, where it is possible to memorize opening moves, each move creates a new position. For each of these, a player tries to find the “best” move by calculating ahead, evaluating these future possibilities using a set of theoretical principles.
These thinking skills are becoming ever more valuable for primary and secondary school students constantly confronted with new everyday problems. If these students go on to college, it will be especially imperative to understand how to apply broad principles to assess new situations critically, rather than rely on absorbing a large number of “answers.”
Chess is an especially effective teaching tool. It can equally challenge the minds of girls and boys, gifted and average students, athletic and non-athletic, rich and poor. It can teach children the importance of planning and the consequences of decisions. It can further teach how to concentrate, how to win and lose gracefully, how to think logically and efficiently, and how to make tough and abstract decisions. Chess can also build confidence and self-esteem without over-inflating egos, as some loses are inevitable, even for world champions. Chess can potentially help teach underachieving children how to study, perhaps even leaving them with a passion for learning.
Perhaps most importantly, chess is an effective way to teach children how to think and solve an ever-changing and diverse array of difficult problems. With millions of possibilities in every game, players must continually face new positions and new problems. They cannot solve these using a simple formula or relying on memorized answers. Instead, they must analyze and calculate relying on general principles and patterns along with a dose of creativity and originality – skills that increasingly mirror what students must confront in their everyday schoolwork.
Adapted from “The Case for Chess as a Tool to Develop Our Children’s Minds,” 2000, Dr. Peter Dauvergne. Dr. Dauvergne is the Canada Research Chair in Global Environmental Politics and an Associate Professor in the Political Science department at the University of British Columbia. He is a member of the Publications Board of the UBC Press and the founding and current editor of the MIT journal Global Environmental Politics.
Chess Tournaments
All About Chess Tournaments
What is a chess tournament:
A tournament is a set of games played under time constraints where players receive a point for winning, half a point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Most tournaments are divided into sections. The Chelsea ChessMates have been attending most of the CIS tournaments where the sections are: NonRated Beginners (NRB); K-5 Rookie (Under 600); Novice (Under 1100); Reserve, and Open/Champion. For more information about rating see the United States Chess Federation site and fore more information about city tournaments see the CIS site.
What are the rules for a chess tournament:
Tournament rules vary, but here are a few that ChessMates are expected to adhere to no matter what:
Good sportsmanship. Anyone who doesn't act respectfully will be ejected from the tournament and may asked not to return to further tournaments / practices.
No talking during a match. You may say Check, Adjust, and Checkmate. If you need to express more you raise your hand and get a director to help.
Touch rules. Once you touch a piece you must move it, even if an accidental touch. If you touch another players piece and you can take it, you must: Touch Take. That's why we keep our hands off the board till we're sure.
How much time does a chess tournament take:
Except for Nationals most matches are limited to 30 minutes each. If play is still going on after an hour a clock will be brought in and the first person whose time runs out loses.
Except for Nationals there are usually 4 rounds. Sometimes if a player has won all 4 rounds they may be asked to play a blitz play off match to determine the order of the best players. Most times a tie-break formula is used to determine place in a tournament.
Who gets trophies at a tournament:
PS11 has been going as a team to CIT tournaments where usually students get medals for 3 points and trophies are awarded to the top 7 players in each section. Also the team can win a plaque if the top 4 players in any section score higher than other schools in that section.
Who can go to tournaments:
Here are two ways to go to a tournament.
A) NY Chess Kids tournaments have a fee and anyone can pay to enter. Please go to www.nychesskids.com or see Mr. Fier about fees and rules for further details.
B) Chess in the Schools runs official Scholastic Chess Tournaments throughout the school year. As both a CIT school and a TTI grant school we try to go to ALL CIT tournaments as a team. Usually a team is limited to 12 players. Mr. Fier picks 1st from those in the Chess Club who have shown that they can play with respect for the game. Being a happy and considerate player is more important than being a expert player.
How does someone get onto the team for a Chess in the Schools tournament:
If you are in the chess club you will get an invite and you must confirm no later then noon the Wednesday before the tournament to place a student in the tournament. If you are not on the team you can request to go to the tournament as an individual.
What do parents / guardians need to know about tournaments:
A guardian is required to be with their child throughout the event. Scholastic tournaments are an all morning and afternoon event. You must arrive no later then 9:20am and most tournaments end around 4pm. Lunch is not provided. While students are practicing between matches parents are asked to hold all conversations out in the hall (including cell phones). Students should not be playing on electronic device until after the last round.
EXTRA EXTRA:
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