“Smart kids play chess, and in Brownwood ISD, that’s every single second and third grader,” wrote BISD Superintendent Dr. Reece Blincoe on his blog, the most recent entry pertaining to the new program initiated at all three elementary schools.
Every Friday, students learn and participate in a one-hour lesson about chess and its strategies, playing pieces, and etiquette; additionally, as a part of the curriculum, each student receives a chess board to keep.
“Chess teaches kids how to strategize, how to think before they act, and is known to sharpen math skills,” Blincoe said, going on to also mention improved sportsmanship, stronger social and critical thinking skills and an improved self-confidence as other side-effects of knowing the game.
The strategy behind the program is that this skill set and knowledge base create an intellectual atmosphere for students, encouraging them and attributing to higher test scores. One important chess strategy is to think three moves ahead; this in turn helps students put the skill to work not just in playing the game, but in real life and school application.
“Students’ self-confidence, math skills, thinking before they act — this relates to higher test scores,” Blincoe said. “It does not necessarily make students smarter, but it polishes their skills so they can do better.”
The chess initiative in U.S. classrooms was started by the non-profit organization America’s Foundation For Chess (AF4C), based out of Bellevue, Washington. The curriculum they produced, called First Move, is relatively inexpensive, costing approximately $75 per classroom. The AF4C continues to work on maintaining a reasonable price for its services because their main concern is to get the program going in as many classrooms as possible.
“Their motives are pure and they are teaching for the right reasons,” Blincoe said. “They know it’s a really good way to help kids learn.”
One particular event will display and challenge the Brownwood students’ abilities — a chess tournament held at Brownwood Intermediate School on Tuesday morning, May 24th at 9:00. All third graders will play four or five timed matches; players will collect points by capturing opponents’ pieces and accumulate their points throughout the match. Those with the most points or have not lost any rounds will receive prizes sponsored by Big Country Ford. Last year’s tournament produced about 30 students who won every match.
Blincoe presses onward with the chess program, working with other schools across the state to incorporate and find sponsors to support First Move.
“When you see our billboard bragging that, ‘we play chess at BISD,’ there’s a reason for that,” Blincoe said. “We believe chess holds the power to bring positive change to our education system. ‘Smart kids play chess’ — that’s our tagline — and we’re teaching every one of our kids to play chess. We want them to know, ‘I am smart, I can succeed’.”
