Freedom Chess Academy teaches strategy
By Margaret Clevenger
Special to The Tuscaloosa News
Published: Sunday, July 8, 2012 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, July 7, 2012 at 12:49 p.m.
Queen’s pawn to “d4” is a classic opening move in the game of chess. Enrollees in the Freedom Chess Academy are learning chess moves and more this summer as they hone their skills in weekly sessions at the Tuscaloosa Public Library.
“Our purpose is to promote chess in Tuscaloosa and the west Alabama area,” said Neil Dietsch, president of the board of directors of the Freedom Chess Academy. “We do that through free chess lessons and by sponsoring tournaments.”
The volunteers in the program believe that chess has a positive effect on children who play the game.
“Research has shown that children who study chess have better SAT scores, better grades in school, better behavior, and go further in school,” said Rose Marie Stutts, who founded the Freedom Chess Academy in 2000 and now serves as director of education. “Chess teaches planning and thinking before you act.”
Lessons learned on the chessboard can often be applied to everyday life. Stutts said she sometimes teaches a game called first checkmate which involves two rooks against a single king.
“The king attacks by moving on the diagonal toward the rook, while the two rooks are trying to force him off the board,” she said. “If the king gets one square away from a rook on the diagonal, then he is going to capture that rook. And I tell the kids this: If somebody gets in your face and you beat him up for getting in your face, you’re a loser. You’re either going to get detention or go to jail, but you’re going to get in trouble. And the other guy gets off. The smart thing to do is the smart thing to do right here on this chessboard. You walk away. The rook is all the way across the chessboard in one move. Use your mind and your smarts to outwit somebody without having to get into a confrontation.”
Dietsch began a recent Wednesday afternoon meeting with a brain teaser for his students. On a large chess board hanging in the front of the room, chess pieces were set up in “a mate in four” scheme, or a checkmate in four moves. Dietsch challenged his listeners to solve the puzzle, noting that it would take “tactics and a lot of calculation.”
After the lesson, the group broke into pairs and began playing chess. Dietsch instructed his players to try to learn from each other. “Talk about what works and what doesn’t,” he told them.
Furrowed brows attest to the concentration of the players as they plotted their moves. But all was not serious here. One young boy giggled and broke into a grin as he mastered his opponent with a skillful play.
Gabriel Fung, an 8-year-old student at the Tuscaloosa Magnet School, has been attending the Chess Academy for three years.
“He’s smart,” said his mother, Qiong Fung. “He comes to learn some strategy. At the beginning he liked it very much, but then he lost some interest in it. But he took a little break and now he is more interested again.”
Gabriel participated in some competitions and his mother said that helped rekindle his desire to play the game.
Brandon McCollum, 6, was attending his first meeting.
“I think this is a wonderful program,” said his mother Laurice MCCollum. “I heard it helps students with math. That’s why we are here.” Brandon will be in the first grade at Rock Quarry Elementary School this fall.
Full article here.
Great stuff.