Young
Metro
Detroiters
Go
National
In The
Game Of
Chess
By Karen
H.
Samuels/Tell
Us
Detroit
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Det) -
The
courtyard
of the
Detroit
Institute
of Art (DIA)
becomes
the hot
spot for
young
competitive
chess
players
every
Friday
evening.
Players
from
local
area,
elementary
middle
school
and high
schools
gather
intently
around
chess
boards
moving
pieces
with
careful
consideration.
On a
recent
Friday,
trophies
won by
Washington
Parks
Academy
at the
United
States
Chess
Federation
championships
in
Atlanta,
Georgia
were on
display.
The
Cornerstone
charter
school
placed
3rd in
the
elementary
chess
nationals.
Players
are
coached
in team
and
individual
events
by chess
masters
and
their
peers.
Tell Us
Detroit
spoke
with
adult
organizers
and
student
coaches
about
the
game.
They all
agreed
chess is
easy to
learn
but
takes
time to
master.
“You
have to
learn
how to
move six
pieces,
and then
we teach
them how
to
defend
the
King”.
Photo by
Kwabena
Shabu
While it
may be a
myth
that
chess is
hard to
learn,
it’s
accurate
to say
it
builds
important
critical
thinking
skills.
It helps
students
think
ahead
and plan
strategically
before
making a
move.
For some
students
it’s an
opportunity
to earn
college
scholarships.
The
Detroit
City
Chess
Club
http://www.detroitcitychessclub.com/
collaborated
with the
DIA to
provide
space
for
chess
players
to come
for
play,
tournaments
and
special
exhibitions
by
masters
of the
game.
The Club
website
keeps
track of
all
local
school
league
standings
in
scholastic
championships.
Standings
are
determined
by a
combination
of match
points
and game
points.
The
rankings
are
about
more
than who
places
first,
there
are an
underreported,
underappreciated
indicator
of how
well
Detroit
public
school
students
can
perform,
in game
many
people
fear is
too hard
to
master.
