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How to Start a Chess Club

Although they can primarily be found at high schools, chess clubs are popular with children as young as third-graders. As an activity, chess provides kids with an opportunity to develop higher level thinking skills and to improve their concentration. As members of a chess club, kids can develop those skills while interacting with others with the same interests. In addition, becoming part of a chess team gives kids who are not particularly athletic an alternative opportunity to engage in competition.

Instructions

- 1
  Begin by sending a survey out to all classrooms. Your purpose will be to find out how many kids already know how to play chess well, how many know the basics and how many do not play but would like to learn.
- 2
  Send a questionnaire out to parents and faculty members asking for volunteers to help sponsor the club and/or teach or coach chess to the students. You will need more volunteers at the beginning as you teach the non-players. You might also ask if there are parents who would like to learn the game along with their youngsters.
- 3
  Plan a “chess event.” Invite everyone who has shown interest in the club. An early evening would be an appropriate time to hold the event. Make it clear that it is not necessary to know how to play chess to attend. As an incentive, say that that refreshments will be served. Let everyone introduce themselves and tell the group their chess-playing status. Hold an exhibition game which will feature the players explaining the game as they play. Before everyone leaves, decide on a good time for the first club meeting.
- 4
  Arrange for a space for the chess club meetings. Although a classroom would work, the space would have to contain enough tables and chairs at which games could be played.
- 5
  Arrange to have an adequate number of chess sets. It might be possible to solicit donations of either the sets themselves or funding for them through local businesses. You might also send out flyers asking families to donate sets they no longer use. You can sometimes find used sets at thrift shops.
- 6
  Start the first meeting by dividing the group by each member’s playing ability. Assign one adult to monitor games played by already proficient players, another to help those who already know the basics, and as many adult volunteers as possible to teach those needing to learn the game from scratch.
- 7
  Continue to organize the club at future meetings by deciding if the group needs officers, if the group wants to engage in chess meets with other schools, and what other kinds of activities the group membership is interested in.

Chess & Checkers