Thinking of Starting a School Chess Club?

Chess teaches kids to think strategically, plan effectively, and reason critically. Studies have shown that chess improves a child’s cognitive reasoning and can even increase math and verbal test scores. And besides, a well-run chess program is an exciting way for kids to gather together and compete around a common interest.

Your school (or co-op) might be ready for a chess club once you’ve prepared the soil through some initial groundwork. For instance, making chess sets available during lunch time, doing demonstrations in classrooms, and identifying key teachers or student leaders will be important first steps.

Once you’ve gathered some initial momentum, you’re probably ready to start your school chess club. Lunch or after school are probably the best times, but consult with your school administrator. USChess, the game’s national governing body, has put together an entire free booklet on best practices for starting a club, which you can read here. To summarize, you want to keep your club fun, organized, and hospitable. 

What should you do during your chess club? It depends on the size and ability level of your group, but key things could include a short lesson, a puzzle worksheet, and competitive games against one another. ChessKid has put together an entire free curriculum that club leaders may find useful, which you can find here. Keep track of game results so you can pair evenly-matched players together as much as possible. 

Building Your School Chess Program

Once you’ve got a successful chess club up and running, what then? Helping good players continue to find avenues to nurture and pursue their passion for chess beyond the school club is likely your next objective. Encourage your players to work at chess outside of school in pursuit of a particular goal. I recommend ChessKid.com as a great, safe tool for kids to learn and practice chess online. Kids probably won’t improve much from just playing in a once-a-week club; the consistent rhythm of playing games and doing puzzles is necessary for advancing to the next level.

The next step for strong players will be to play in their first USCF (US Chess Federation, or simply US Chess) tournament. These in-person, over-the-board tournaments are the best way to connect with other chess players outside of your school. To play, the student will first have to purchase a membership at USChess.org; this member ID number will then be used to register for a tournament. The best source for tournament listings is the Georgia Chess Association calendar, which can be viewed here. In his or her first tournament, the child is “unrated,” and so will generally register for the lowest-rated section. Over time, as the child plays more tournaments, their rating will be used to place them in the proper section of each tournament. 

As fun as individual competition may be, school teams can be even more fun. The Georgia Chess Association hosts an annual, rated scholastic team tournament every spring; four players make up a team that then battles it out with other teams in the state. Other school associations, such as GAPPS or GISA, also hold scholastic team tournaments, though these are not rated by USCF. 

As the program continues to grow, consider creating special spirit wear for club members, writing a club newsletter, and finding ways to celebrate club or team accomplishments in school communications. Holding a summer chess camp may also be a great way to increase excitement about chess. A really motivated coach may wish to pursue tournament director (TD) certification with USChess so that the club can host its own USCF-rated tournaments!

Recommended Resources

• Supplies

• • Tournament Sets (recommend mousepad boards and single-weight pieces)

  • Clocks (recommend investing in high-quality DGT digital clocks)

  • Notation pads (for recording games)

  • Demo board or device for casting on TV (for teaching)

  • Prizes (puzzle books, magnetic travel sets, etc.)

• Books (from beginner to more advanced)

• • The Usborne Chess Book, Usborne

  • Chess from Beginner to Winner!, Kevin Bordi and Samy Robin

  • How to Win at Chess, Levi Rozman

  • Chess Fundamentals, Jose Raul Capablanca

  • Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games, Laszlo Polgar

• Websites

• • Georgia Chess Association calendar (https://www.georgiachess.org/events)

  • USChess (www.uschess.org)

  • Chess.com (www.chess.com)

  • ChessKid (www.chesskid.com)

  • ChessRegister (www.chessregister.com)