Howardism: My Chess Club

My Chess Club

When my daughter started school at the local public elementary, they sent around a newsletter requesting parent volunteer's to run after-school clubs. I got quite excited at the prospect of helping out… but what club would I start? So many ideas. While I originally thought about doing a computer club (as it is what I know best), I decided after reading some articles to start a chess club.

First of all, my approach to chess could be described as interested by-stander. While I learned the rules as a boy, I never had anyone to play, and never learned much whenever I did dabble in it.

To get ready, however, I've been a dabbling. Picked up stacks of books from the library, hooked up with the local Chess for Success folks, and have been practicing my lessons on my 6 year old daughter.

I have to work within the "club organization" set up by the school. I will have 3 sets of 6 week stints. Not really that much, but I will organize my plan accordingly.

Since I have access to an computer-screen projector, I figured that I would take advantage of that instead of having the students huddled around a board. This means that you can download and use my lesson plans according to my Creative Commons License. These "presentations" use OpenOffice which is freely available as well as a Chess Font.

Chess Club I

Chess Club II

I think I am going to put these together after I'm into the part of the club, for I'm not sure if I can go this fast in an elementary school program.

Opening / Development of Pieces
Value of Pieces / Exchanges
Basic Checkmates (Opposition?)
King Safety
The Pin (Opposition?)
(Haven't decided yet -- Review?)

Chess Club III

Effective use of the Rooks and Queen
Knight and Pawn Forks
Rook, Bishop and Queen Forks
Discovered Attacks
Elementary Mating Patterns
Sacrifices?

Other Thoughts on Chess

The Value of Chess
Why is half our population immerse in fundamentalist ideologies? What is the fascination?


	Chess is eminently and emphatically the philospher's game. —Paul Morphy	Powerpoint Versions I originally made my presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint. But when I condensed my lesson plan to fit into my school's club schedule, I redid the presentations. These presentations take a slower approach and cover less for each presentation. Lesson 1 - How to Begin Lesson 2 - Moving the Pieces Lesson 3 - Checkmate Lesson 4 - Checkmate Puzzles (Not completed) Lesson 5 - Castling Lesson 6 - Pin Lesson 7 - Touch Move Lesson 8 - Opening Lesson 9 - Backrank Checkmate Lesson10 - Thinking Through the Moves Lesson11 - BasicCheckmates Lesson12 - Stalemate Lesson13 - Pawn Promotion Lesson14 - Opposition Lesson15 - En Passant Lesson16 - Piece Values Lesson17 - Exchanges Lesson18 - King Safety, Part 1 Lesson19 - King Safety, Part 2 Lesson20 - Using Rooks Lesson21 - Using the Queen Lesson23 - Pawn Forks Oh, and I stopped before this series was completed in order to freakin' redo the entire presentation to work with OpenOffice. My Chess Club When my daughter started school at the local public elementary, they sent around a newsletter requesting parent volunteer's to run after-school clubs. I got quite excited at the prospect of helping out… but what club would I start? So many ideas. While I originally thought about doing a computer club (as it is what I know best), I decided after reading some articles to start a chess club. First of all, my approach to chess could be described as interested by-stander. While I learned the rules as a boy, I never had anyone to play, and never learned much whenever I did dabble in it. To get ready, however, I've been a dabbling. Picked up stacks of books from the library, hooked up with the local Chess for Success folks, and have been practicing my lessons on my 6 year old daughter. I have to work within the "club organization" set up by the school. I will have 3 sets of 6 week stints. Not really that much, but I will organize my plan accordingly. Since I have access to an computer-screen projector, I figured that I would take advantage of that instead of having the students huddled around a board. This means that you can download and use my lesson plans according to my Creative Commons License. These "presentations" use OpenOffice which is freely available as well as a Chess Font. Chess Club I Rules of the Club / Introduction to the Pawn and the Rook Movement and Practice with the Rest of the Pieces Check and Checkmate Castling and En Passant Pawn Promotion Stalemate / Thinking Before Moving Chess Club II I think I am going to put these together after I'm into the part of the club, for I'm not sure if I can go this fast in an elementary school program. Opening / Development of Pieces Value of Pieces / Exchanges Basic Checkmates (Opposition?) King Safety The Pin (Opposition?) (Haven't decided yet -- Review?) Chess Club III Effective use of the Rooks and Queen Knight and Pawn Forks Rook, Bishop and Queen Forks Discovered Attacks Elementary Mating Patterns Sacrifices? Other Thoughts on Chess The Value of Chess Why is half our population immerse in fundamentalist ideologies? What is the fascination?
	2014, Howard Abrams Some rights reserved	Originally written on 8 February 2014. Updated on 8 February 2014.