Since many of your middle and high school chess club members may also be members of Scouts BSA, helping them earn the chess merit badge would be a great way to combine two of their favorite activities.
All of the requirements for the chess merit badge (which are described in the chess merit badge pamphlet) are topics you would naturally cover in chess club meetings, so it would be easy to help your club members earn this extra recognition.
You can also leverage additional online resources like the following:
ChessKid chess merit badge guide: This series of ten articles is designed for scout leaders and parents who want to help scouts achieve the merit badge and enjoy the game of chess. They were written by Jerry Nash, a national chess education consultant who served on the committee which developed the content for the chess merit badge pamphlet.
St. Louis Chess Club online chess merit badge camp: This free, online camp is held several times a year. The St. Louis Chess Club has been holding chess merit badge workshops since the chess merit badge was introduced in 2011. When the Boy Scouts of America changed their name in 2019 to Scouts BSA and allowed girls to join, the St. Louis Chess club was also the the first to offer a workshop specifically for girls.
If you would like, you could also become an official merit badge counselor for the chess merit badge by contacting your local Scouts BSA Council and completing the steps described in the Guide to Merit Badge Counseling.
We are partnering with ChessKid.com* to give 100 schools in North Carolina free ChessKid Gold accounts for all their students in the 2023-2024 school year.
Since we have 100 counties in NC, our goal is to have a school in each county receive one of these grants. This will help tens of thousands of children learn how to play chess and bring the benefits of chess clubs to every corner of our state.
For more information and to apply for one of these grants, please read this ChessKid article. The application deadline is June 30, 2023 or until 100 schools are selected.
* ChessKid.com is the scholastic extension of Chess.com – the #1 online chess site. ChessKid is dedicated to being a safe place for kids to learn and play chess. ChessKid introduces kids at an early age to the game of chess, teaching them how to play while having fun. It is an educational tool that teachers can use in their classrooms to help students develop critical thinking skills.
In the fall of 2022, US Chess launched a new Chess in Education committee and program to provide resources to teachers, schools, districts, and state boards of education so they can leverage chess as an educational tool.
I was invited to join this committee, and one of our first steps was to compile and publish a list of Grants and Awards for Chess Educators and a list of free Resources for Chess Educators on the US Chess website. Please review these resources and give me your feedback.
If your child or your chess club is playing in their first tournament, especially if it is a large one like the Triangle Championship or the NC K-12 Championship, then you may have some questions. Here are answers to the ones I have heard asked most frequently:
What should my child do the night and morning before the tournament?
Children should eat a good dinner and get a very good night’s sleep. Avoid scary movies, arguments, and negative conversations the night and morning before the competition. Please postpone sleepovers until after the event. Being well-rested will help children play with more concentration and focus. They will also have more energy in the later rounds. Solving puzzles on ChessKid or reviewing chess topics they have already learned is okay but trying to learn new material in the hours before a tournament is generally not helpful.
What should we bring to the tournament?
Have your child wear their school or clubt-shirt, because it will be fun for them and will make it easier for you to see them.
notation book, pencils (if your child knows how to take notation)
chess clock (if you have one, write your name on it and bring a spare battery. Set it for the tournament time control ahead of time)
sweater or sweatshirt (in case it gets cold in the tournament room)
portable chair (if your child is in K-1, you may want to sit outside of the K-1 tournament room)
snacks, drinks
any medication your child may need
chess set, book, game, or tablet and charger (in case your child finishes a round earlier, write your name on the chess board and bag)
phone or camera (share photos afterwards with your club, PTA, etc.)
When and where should we arrive?
Try to arrive early so you have time to meet with your team and help your child find their board for the first round. If you are registering onsite, try to arrive even earlier. If you have registered and paid in advance, then large tournaments typically do not require you to sign-in while small ones might (please check this in advance).
Confirm in advance if your team will meet in a team room or the “skittles room.”
The NC K-12 Championship usually allows teams to rent team rooms. For the February 10-12, 2023 event in the Raleigh Convention Center, the Indermaur Chess Foundation has reserved rooms 302a and 302bfor the schools we support.
Other events like the Triangle Championship have a “skittles room” or waiting area. For the January 15, 2023 event, this will be rooms 301a and 301b in the Raleigh Convention Center.
Who from our school is registered? Can another parent watch my child if I cannot stay the whole time?
Large events usually provide lists of players who are already registered, so you can arrange carpools, child supervision, etc. Here are links to the registration lists for the 2023 Triangle Championship and the 2023 NC K-12 Championship.
Can I still register my child? Can parents play, too?
Most events allow late and even on-site registration (although usually at a higher fee than if you had registered early). Some events like the Triangle Championship have Adult or Family sections.
Where can I find my child’s US Chess membership number?
How will I know who my child will play and where they should sit?
The tournament director will post new “pairings” on a physical bulletin board before each round. Many events now also post these online. The pairings are typically in alphabetical order by last name. Find your child’s name, what color they will be playing, and on what board they will be playing. Tips: take a photo of your child’s pairing and, once they are seated, make sure your child is seated across from the correct opponent, as the other child might be at the wrong board.
How are pairings generated?
Large chess tournaments use “Swiss System” pairing. Players are initially ranked and grouped by their ratings. Swiss pairings split each group into two halves and pair the top of the first half with the top of the second half. For example, if, after two rounds, there are 16 players with 2.0 scores, #1 will play #9, #2 will play #10, etc. If there are 4 players with 1.5 scores, #1 will play #3, and #2 will play #4. This process repeats to cover all groups of players. This Wikipedia article that explains this in more detail including exceptions and special situations like accelerated pairing.
Why does my child have to play such a highly rated player?
The pairings for the first round or two in big tournaments typically have the largest disparity in ratings. After that the games are much more evenly matched. Most children will get to play some opponents who are rated higher than they are. They may also play some who are rated lower or are un-rated. Please encourage your child to focus on their game – not their opponent’s rating. If they play someone un-rated or with a low rating, the opponent could be a strong player who is new to tournament play. They should not let their guard down but instead focus on playing their best. When children play higher-rated opponents, they should stay focused, play thoughtfully, and look for any mistakes their opponent may make (as their opponent may let their guard down).
How many rounds will my child play? Could they get eliminated?
Every child gets to play every round. No one is eliminated. That is one of the advantages of Swiss System pairing.
What should I do if my child needs to miss a game?
Please request a bye for the round that your child will miss. You can do this via the tournament website. If you request this in advance, your child will receive 0.5 points for that round. It also prevents another student from being paired with your child that round and sitting at the board waiting for your child.
How are tournaments scored?
Players earn 1 point for a win, 0.5 points for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. In big tournaments, your child will need to walk with their opponent to a scorer’s table and report their score together. Your child’s tournament score is the total of the points they earned from each of their games. Team scores are usually the total of the top 4 individual scores.
How are ties broken?
Ties are broken using formulas based on your opponents’ success in the tournament. For example, if you are tied with someone for first place and your opponents did better than theirs in the tournament, then you would receive the first place trophy. There is also a good Wikipedia article describing these tie break calculations.
How many trophies and medals are awarded?
Large tournaments like the Triangle and NC Championships typically present over 100 awards for all ability levels. Students will be able to win individual and team awards.
Review your games and those of potential opponents. Ask yourself questions like, “Why did I do this? What was their plan?” and try to answer them. Try to remember what you were thinking during the game. You can also replay your ChessKid games by clicking “Play,” selecting “Game History,” clicking on the result for a specific game, and then clicking on the magnifying glass icon to step through that game.
We absolutely agree with US Chess that “chess is transformative for children by improving their focus, aiding in decision making, and teaching that choices have consequences — lifelong skills that can be immediately applied in the classroom,” so we are excited that they are continuing their Outreach Program for At-Risk Youth.
At the Indermaur Chess Foundation, we partner with NC schools to offer these and other benefits of chess to all students, especially those at risk, through our Game Changer Program. We provide each school accepted into our program with 5 chess sets, Chess Step instructional materials, ChessKid.com subscriptions, and online support.
When US Chess announced their outreach program in 2021, we applied on behalf of Wiley Magnet Elementary School and helped them start their chess club. Now in their second year, Wiley’s club used the free memberships provided by US Chess to enter a team in their first US Chess-rated tournament. You can tell from the photos they shared in their PTA newsletter that they had fun and gained good experience!
US Chess recently opened their 2022-2023 Outreach Program for At-Risk Youth supporting affiliates who offer chess at Title I schools, providing each school with 16 free youth memberships and 8 additional chess sets. We’re excited to announce that we applied and were accepted into the new program on behalf of Vance County Middle School and Graham High School!
“We are so appreciative of all you have done, and we look forward to working with the Indermaur Chess Foundation to expose our students to this awesome game/experience. Our chess club will meet three days a week after school, and we plan to incorporate it into our AVID college readiness program,” explained Dwaynna Ramsay-Morgan, Vance County Middle School teacher and chess club leader.
“You’ll be happy to know that student interest is high, and the club is very lively. I’ve been reading the book that you sent with the sets to become a better trainer myself. I very much look forward to the opportunity to send students to tournaments,” said Nikola Filajdic, Graham High School teacher and chess club leader.
If you’re interested in starting a chess club at your NC school, consider applying to our Game Changer Program! Let us know if you’re a Title I school so we can also apply for the US Chess program on your behalf.
First and foremost, students play with their friends, which is really fun!
Competing as a group relieves pressure that some students may feel, because if they lose some – or even all – of their games, they can still encourage their teammates and contribute to their team’s success.
They can wear school t-shirts, sit together, and enjoy snacks as a group between rounds to help build school spirit!
Team events are usually generous with team trophies, so schools have a good chance of winning something, especially if they have multiple teams.
Team events are a great way for coaches and organizers to promote their chess club! They can announce the team’s success at school and in the PTA newsletter, display their team trophies at school, and submit photos of the event to the yearbook.
Parents and teachers can also network with their peers from other schools and get ideas for improving their programs.
Now that I have convinced you to enter your club in a team event, here are some great ChessKid articles to help you prepare your students and their parents:
As a chess nonprofit, National Chess Day seems like a good time to reflect on our plans and progress. When we launched in the summer of 2019, we set a goal of helping NC schools and community organizations start 100 chess clubs and, so far, through our Game Changer Program, we have helped them establish 61 chess clubs across 32 NC counties. Thank you for your support and for telling interested schools and libraries about us!
During the pandemic, we helped several of these clubs continue to meet online. In our most recent year, 317 students completed 2,109 lessons, played 21,965 games, and attempted 41,698 puzzles through the ChessKid accounts we provided. We also organized 49 ChessKid and 24 US Chess-rated tournaments for these clubs. We applied and were accepted for a US Chess Federation program for Title I schools to provide additional resources to help a Wake county school start a chess program.
If you would like to start a chess club at your NC school, library, or community organization, please apply for one of our grants. This year we will continue to provide chess sets, instructor guides and workbooks, and ChessKid accounts to help organizations establish chess clubs in NC.
We will organize weekly ChessKid tournaments and other events to enable students from these clubs to play each other.
Someone recently donated a 25-inch giant chess set which we plan to use at events with our clubs.
We provide each school in our Game Changer Program with their own Group in ChessKid. (If your club is not part of our program and you do not have your own Enterprise account, you can still organize your students in ChessKid using the Club feature as this article explains.)
Each school year, you will want to add new students to your group and decide how to handle students from last year’s club who are no longer at your school. Here are several options:
1) Keep them in your group: This would be a good option for students who have graduated to middle school or high school and now would like to volunteer with your club.
2) Remove them from your group: Their ChessKid account would remain active as a personal account outside of your group. Their parents would still be able to manage the account if you included their email address on the account. With this option, these students would no longer be able to play in the online tournaments that your club or our nonprofit runs. To remove an individual student, click on their menu icon and select “Remove”.
3) Move them to our “Misc Kids” group or to an “Alumni” group for your school: Their account would remain active and parents could still manage the accounts. With this option, the students would not be in your current club but could continue to play in our online tournaments. Please let us know if you need help creating an “Alumni” subgroup or if you would like to move kids to our “Misc Kids” group. To move kids between groups, click on “Groups” and the “More Tools” drop-down menu on the right. Then click on “Move Kids”, select the “From” and “To” groups and click the “Select which kids you want to move” box to move specific students.
You will also want to add new Teachers and Coaches to your group using “Invite Adult Team Members”.
Here’s a fun project to consider for your school or library chess club!
After getting approval from their principal and PTA, one local elementary school chess club gathered students and parents to paint sidewalk chess boards using special concrete paint. They ordered medium-sized “giant” pieces to fit the boards, and they use these boards and adjacent picnic tables for outdoor lessons and for other fun events.
A second school club purchased plain concrete tables and benches and then spray painted boards on them.
If you know a student who’s looking for ways to get in some service hours, here’s a creative idea: how about hosting a chess tournament for charity?
That’s exactly what a group of Enloe High School Student Council members, in cooperation with the Enloe chess club, did last month to support Charity Ball, an annual philanthropic event that has raised well over $1 million for various community nonprofits since it was created by an Enloe student in 2004.
The single elimination tournament, which took place right after the school day ended, included 32 participants and raised over $200 by charging a small entry fee. The winner was awarded a gift basket filled with candy, a prize anyone would love!
Why not plan a charity event for your club? Please add a comment below to let us know how it went!
Indermaur Chess Foundation 