Free chess curriculum aims to help kids

It was the final showdown of the day, a battle for the title of Grade 3 Laronde Chess Challenge champion.

The stage set, Henry Lei and Carol Yu faced off with quiet determination, surrounded by their peers as pawn after pawn fell, bishops taunted knights and rooks were poised for attack.

“It’s a pretty big battle,” one student commented, as the war waged on.

Eyes flitted, fingers drummed.

In the end, there could be only one victor, and Henry was gracious in his success.

Carol, equally good-natured in defeat, knew what brought her down.

“It’s like a queen and a rook and I’m stuck,” she said, her hands flying to her cheeks.

The pair started playing chess in September, with the school’s chess club, which meets weekly so members can hone their skills. The program has developed to the point that a few students in the senior grades are actually teaching classes of their peers the fundamentals of the game – an evolution parent sponsor Ken Jensen hopes will ensure the club continues after he is no longer connected to the school.

A longtime fan of the game, Jensen also hopes a lengthy effort that culminated in chess being approved by the Ministry of Education as a high school credit course will further bolster interest.

Research has shown that playing chess has many benefits to students, including encouraging strategic thinking.

Kelowna’s Luke Campbell began teaching the province’s first Grade 12 credit chess course at Mount Boucherie Senior Secondary in September, after co-developing the course with Abbotsford’s Arnie Nermo.

Campbell named critical thinking skills as the top benefit students gain from the game. A greater ability to focus also ranks high.

Chess also teaches kids about real and immediate consequences, he said.

“I think it’s one of the most important courses for a lot of these kids, the chance to be successful, learn critical thinking skills. And it’s going to be a life skill they’ll take with them past high school,” he said.

The curriculum includes rules of the game, tactical patterns and problem-solving skills, and is supported by Texas-based chess master Susan Polgar.

All it would take to bring the course to Surrey is a teacher that’s willing to teach it and a school administration that’s willing to support it, Campbell said.

As interest in school chess clubs continues to grow in Surrey, Jensen remains hopeful.

“Surrey is a centre for kids’ chess,” he said.

“It’s finding a teacher that can push it.”