Chess In The Schools

Chess in the Schools By Life Master Joel Johnson    Despite having the best player in the world (Paul Morphy) in the mid 1800s, chess in the United States was very dormant until 1972 when Bobby Fischer rocked the entire Soviet bloc by wresting the crown away from World Champion Boris Spassky in a match held in Iceland. But, as quickly as Bobby arrived, he was gone. His decision to abandon his title, along with his countless episodes of public humiliation, caused chess to lose a great deal of momentum.    In the early 80s, a few chess surveys where done trying to determine the effect chess has on elementary school student verbal and math test scores. Nearly everyone expected the math scores to rise, based on the common logic skills, but few realized how big an impact chess has on verbal skills. These surveys all illustrated with one hundred percent certainty, that chess has a very positive effect on elementary school students.    Around 1986, the American Chess Foundation changed its’ name and primary purpose in life. The new name would be “Chess in the Schools”. The new purpose of the program would be to get chess into the American school system. Centered in the heart of New York City, they took their program into the hood. The results have been staggering. The program not only raised test scores in the schools with the chess program, but it also had positive effects related to youth violence, school attendance, etc. Today, Chess in the Schools teaches chess to 38,000 students every school year in 160 elementary schools all over New York City. However, despite their success, chess had been slow to reach schools in the heartland. With the exception of a few schools with hard working and caring teachers, most districts were satisfied with the status quo.    But the times, they are a changing! The status quo is no longer acceptable. Teacher apathy has been replaced with national testing and teacher accountability. Many school districts have gone as far as tying teacher raises to test scores. (Not to mention, parents tired of watching their children spending a countless number of wasted hours on TV and video games.) The end result is chess being taught in schools everywhere. Companies built entirely around teaching chess in the schools have popped up everywhere. Thousands of young children across the country are playing chess at school. And nowhere is this more evident than here in Phoenix. In order to limit the number of entrants in the Arizona Scholastic State Championships each year, you must qualify. Yet, despite this hurdle, the tournament draws roughly two thousand students every year!    Where all this will lead in the future is anybody’s guess? Will many of these players continue to play well into adulthood? Will the next group of young players generate a World Champion? We will just have to wait and see. But, one thing is for sure, chess in the United States is alive and doing very well.