[1] Good morning. I am happy to have the chance to talk to you during our class meeting today. First, I want to ask you two questions. If you could get better scores on math exams simply by learning to play a game, would you be interested? And if I told you that playing a particular game would give a boost to your reading skills, would you want to learn the game? Sure you would. The game I am talking about is chess.
[2] Someone may have told you that chess is a game for “brainy” people. Wrong! I read that some kids learn to play when they are four years old. The game is not difficult to learn. There is a second grader in my neighborhood who plays chess with his big brother. If a second grader can learn to play, I know we sixth graders can learn to play. I want to tell you more about the game, but first I want to talk about starting a chess club here at school.
[3] I said that you could get better scores in math by learning chess. When I was getting facts together to talk to you about starting a club, I did a lot of research on the library computer. I found many, many pages on the Internet telling how this game is so much more than just a way to pass the time. Chess requires problem solving. Educators and researchers have done studies with students just like you and me. These studies prove that chess teaches how to think ahead, how to plan, and how to be systematic in an approach to problem solving. If we know better how to use these skills, it figures we can use these same techniques to solve math problems. I read that one junior high school teacher in California said that he saw improvement in his math students’ scores after they had been playing chess for only three weeks. Is there any one of us who couldn’t improve his or her math skills?
[4]Memorizing worked for us when we learned the multiplication tables, but chess is not about memorizing. Sometimes trying to memorize too many facts or formulas gets in the way of figuring out things for ourselves. Playing chess is a mental workout. It is thinking and analyzing. When we read, we think about and analyze the material and hope that we comprehend it. Playing chess also will help us learn to concentrate, something we must do when we read.
[5] There is no cost for chess lessons. There is no special equipment to buy or uniform required. The only thing you have to bring to the club meetings is a determination to learn how to play. Learning how to shoot baskets is great exercise, but unless you are another David Robinson, it will not be that much help in your future life. Strategy and reasoning are tools we can use for a lifetime. Chess will help us develop these skills.
[6] Chess is not the least bit dull or boring. Maybe you have heard of Garry Kasparov. In 2004, he was rated the highest-scoring chess player in the world. In 1999, he played a game of chess on the Internet. It was called the Kasparov vs. The World online chess match. Kasparov faced a team of players from seventy-five different countries. He made the first move on June 21, 1999. Then the opposition had twenty-four hours to make its move. Four chess experts suggested certain moves and posted them online to world team players. The world team then voted for the move they thought best. The move that received the most votes was the move the experts used against Kasparov. This game was over in October 1999. Garry Kasparov made move number 62 and won the game. It is said that over 3 million people logged on to watch this thrilling match. I would not call that a boring game.
[7] Are you excited yet about learning to play chess? I hope so, because I am. Thank you for giving me this time to talk about organizing a club that I am sure you will enjoy and that will help all of us. Vote yes for chess!