Chess academy teaches kids critical thinking

Sizzlin’ Summer Chess Academy teaches kids critical thinking
Jun. 21, 2007 06:05 PM

Alan Anderson is the 2007 SMART Chess Sizzlin’ Summer Chess Academy director, development officer and admissions officer.

The 2007 SMART Chess Sizzlin’ Summer Chess Academy is a fantastic opportunity for children and young people to improve their critical-thinking skills. The academy is Monday through July 14.

This is the first tuition-free summer chess academy in the U.S. It will feature International Grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov, International Master Niklolay Andrianov and International Master Ben Finegold.

It will be at Meyer Elementary School, 2615 S. Dorsey Lane, Tempe. The academy is not affiliated with the Tempe Elementary school district. SMART Chess is a registered Arizona not-for-profit corporation focused on teaching the positive aspects of chess to the youth of the Phoenix metropolitan area.

In the past, SMART Chess brought in top-rated players/teachers for a weeklong camp in the summer. While the camps were considered to be very successful, two things were clear. The first was that the cost prohibited many children from attending and the second was that as the kids were finishing the camp, they were perfectly prepped to dig deeper into the science and art of the game.

This year, SMART Chess has formulated a new plan to offer the best camp in the country for up to 150 of our Valley’s kids, especially to our underprivileged children. We firmly believe this program will be a model that hopefully will be followed in other states.

Here is the full article.