We’re definitely about the kids

Cascade View students learn life lessons in black and white
October 13, 2010
By Sebastian Moraga

So far as we know, Bobby Fischer never broke from his 1972 chess match with Boris Spassky to ask his coach to tie his shoelaces.

And he never captured Spassky’s bishop while whistling like a falling missile.

Yet, that’s the kind of thing that goes on at Chess4Life, an after-school program available every Wednesday afternoon to students at Cascade View Elementary School.

The Bellevue-based program goes to schools across Puget Sound teaching children life lessons through chess, said Lane Van Weerdhuizen, a Chess4Life coach.

“We’re a chess program, but we’re definitely about the kids,” said Roy Almasy, a chess coach who teaches alongside Weerdhuizen.

Lessons include respect — children must maintain eye contact with one another when one of them is talking; sportsmanship — matches begin and end with a handshake; and critical thinking — seeing their options and weighing the consequences.

Another big lesson deals with the inevitability of losing.

“Capablanca said you have to be ready to lose hundreds of matches in chess before you become great,” Almasy said regarding chess legend Jose Raul Capablanca, “and this is a guy who went undefeated for eight years.”

Capablanca did win or draw 63 consecutive matches between 1916 and 1924. During four of those years, he was the world champion. No word exists on who tied his shoelaces.

“At Chess4Life, you learn that losing is inevitable,” Almasy said. “But you take the loss as a gift, because it’s an opportunity to learn.”

Here is the full article.