Regardless of your age, chess is not the easiest game to pick up. There is plenty of strategy one needs to consider to play it, even casually. So to learn the game and then engage in playing it at a competitive level takes every ounce of one’s concentration.
Kids of junior high age and younger don’t develop that kind of concentration when they come into the world, and therefore, they need a coach to help them hone it.
As head coach of Parkside Junior High School’s Chess team, Garrett Scott, the former member of the Normal Town Council, tries to impart such strategic thinking into young minds and has been doing so for a number of years.
One of those young minds belongs to Drake Walter, a seventh grader at PJHS, who made it to the event held this past weekend and organized by Bloomington-Normal Area Scholastic Chess, or BNASC. BNASC hosted the Illinois Chess Championship at the Carol A. Reitan Convention Center, part of the Bloomington-Normal Marriott Hotel in Uptown Normal. A total of 60 teams, totaling 571 kids ranging in age from kindergarten to junior high age participated in the event. Another 1,500 people passed through the hotel as a result, including parents, grandparents, friends, and coaches.
Scott brought five of the eight players from his PJHS team to the event, each of whom qualified to participate through previous events. Walter, 13, first started playing while in second grade after seeing other kids being involved with the game and said he thought “it would be something good for me to do.†He’s been playing ever since, and now competitively under the watchful eyes of Scott.
Walter said Chess has taught him to “look for good moves†when facing an opponent, something he said can carry over to other aspects of his life. “In school, I take the time to think things through on tests,†explained Walter, son of Katie Walter, Normal. “I take time to make moves when I play. I think I’m going to do well and try my best here.â€
Each player at this tournament played seven games to rack up points, one point per match and a half-point for a draw, to become a victor. But after winning his first match, Walter faltered as the weekend went on, losing the remaining six.
“He just couldn’t find a rhythm as he did at State Chess in January,†Scott reported. “He’s an interesting young man and I’ve enjoyed having him on our team.†Scott said Walter needs for what he’s taught about the game to stick with him when he faces an opponent. Sometimes at that point in life, we all need that same lesson.
Scott and his players go through each game afterward with their coaches, assessing strengths and weaknesses. Players chart each move they make during a game in a ledger they bring with them to all of their tournaments. Scott equates his going over that individual player’s ledger with them to a football coach reviewing game film with players.
Chess Helps Other Studies: Helen Reedy, mother of two boys – fifth grader Ryan, who attends Benjamin Elementary School; and seventh grader Colin, who attends George L. Evans Junior High School – said playing chess has helped her boys with their concentration and, in Ryan’s case, specifically, helped improve his grades in Math.
Event Served As Preparation For Super Nationals Event In Tennessee: Players at this event were grouped by grade level: Kindergarten through 3rd grade; Fourth and 5th grade; and 6th grade through 8th grade.
Amy Green, a co-organizer of the event with Jeff Sinn, said students who participated in the event received experience at the game while playing “kids you don’t normally play.†She said the event also served as preparation for kids who would compete in a Super National Tournament in July in Nashville, Tenn.
Green said Chess helps students with analytical and thinking skills, confirming the game’s contribution to assisting with improving math and science capabilities.
A high school classmate of mine, John Crew, taught me the game of Chess when we were fifth graders at Thomas Metcalf Elementary School. I admit I struggled with the game but I kept trying. We have to admire these young people for giving the game of Chess a chance to improve their analytical and social skills.
And I’m certain that, despite the setback he experienced at this event, Drake Walter will be back at a Chess board soon to continue sharpening his skills.