On January 7, 2011, Denton High School chess club had its first meeting of 2011. Twelve students attended, as well as two Denton High School alumni. Ladder games were completed, followed by post mortems and chess for fun.
This is the lesson plan I wrote for the January 5, 2010 first meeting of the after-school chess club at Strickland MS. In reality, the plan was followed. Clarifications about what actually happened compared to the plan or additional helpful comments on resources are added in [brackets]. Supplies used are in CAPS. The day went well for the 11 students that attended. A teacher also dropped by for the second half of the class.
On Tuesday, January 5, 2010, I will begin my after-school chess club at Strickland Middle School. The club will be hosted by the Communities in Schools program. Chess club will be free and open to all Strickland Middle School students. For the previous five years, I volunteered teaching chess at Strickland during the school day from 1:15 to 1:55 p.m., known as advisory period.
My fifth chess book, The Living Chess Game: Fine Arts Activities for Kids 9-14, arrived on my doorstep on Christmas!
Follow the UTD GM Invitational by logging into the MonRoi Web site! For the morning rounds, I watch the games on MonRoi. I’ve been traveling in person to the evening rounds. My report on the tournament was just published on Chess Life Online.
At our Denton High School Chess Club meeting on December 10, 2010, three students turned in their forms to participate in the January 15, 2011 Region III chess tournament. Four more promised to get in forms soon. Then club members played a written ladder game. Since 16 attended, eight ladder games began and will finish at our next club meeting on January 7, 2011. More information can be found at the club Web site.
At our Denton High School Chess Club meeting on December 3, 2010, we discussed participation in the January 15, 2011 Region III chess tournament. Then club secretary William Root gave a lecture on famous chess players followed by a test. The test had positions from the famous players’ games. Students worked in 2-3 person groups on the test’s problems. Information about the tournament, the famous players, and the test can be found in the Handouts section of the club Web site.
Every fall since 2007, undergraduates at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) have submitted proposals for Undergraduate Research Scholar Awards. In 2010, WFM Saheli Nath was one of 46 students who received $500 each for project-related expenses for their research proposals. The students’ faculty sponsors received $300 apiece, also for project-related expenses.
Exactly one week after LubbockOnline announced that Texas would include chess in UIL (University Interscholastic League) competition, the three volumes of Chess Camp books arrived in my mailbox. More than 1200 checkmate-in-one problems are included in volumes 2 and 3, beginning with simple mates such as king and queen against king and progressing to checkmates that arise out of common openings. Since the UIL chess competition for younger children will consist of solving checkmates-in-one, volumes 2 and 3 will help them train for UIL.
Because last week I showed the YouTube clip (search for “Denton Living Chess Game” on YouTube) of my public library class acting out a Reti endgame while dressed as Super Mario characters, today I brought in a Super Mario chess set for four players to use for a tandem game. Other students conducted post mortems (analysis of completed ladder games), played speed chess, or completed ladder games. More details can be found at the Denton High School Web site, under Activities—Chess Club.
On November 12, Denton High School chess club sponsor Fred Mueller announced that we might acquire a living chess board. I talked about the importance of scripting living chess games, a topic covered in my forthcoming book The Living Chess Game: Fine Arts Activities for Kids 9-14. Then students who had ladder games to finish went to another room. Other students had a post mortem, played tandem chess, and watched the YouTube video “Denton Living Chess Game.”
Explore Chess for Academic Success on Sunday, November 14, 2010, 2-4 p.m. at New Tech High School (113 Samuel Blvd Coppell, TX 75019). The Coppell Gifted Association provides more details at this link. I will be presenting activities from my four books.
