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By Alex Vergilesov
Twenty-six eager students at Principia Middle School have begun learning and practicing chess with instructors from the CCSCSL’s Scholastics Program. The program grew out of a handshake about two months ago when I met the director of the Principia lower school, Mr. Moyle, at a special educator’s night at the World Chess Hall of Fame. While Mr. Moyle actually works for the lower school at the campus, he was so impressed with the programming that he shared his experience with his colleagues at the campus. I got a call that two classes full of students were interested in chess lessons at the middle school, and here we are one month into the program!
Although the scholastics program generally benefits afterschool classes, Principia Middle School has actually asked us to come in during the school hours and use chess as an enrichment supplement. I was there for the first lesson to experience the passion the students demonstrated for the game. While nearly all of the students have played chess before, many have never been properly taught the basic rules or how to win the game. We split the class by skill level; Mr. Ben Simon taught the beginners, and advanced players received instruction from Mr. Ken West. While the beginners were solving puzzles on piece movement and playing with limited pieces, the advanced class learned the advantages of castling and practiced checkmates. For the last few minutes of the classes, I took on the school champ, age 12, while an audience of his fellow students booed me to a tactical victory.
On Thursday, December 1, 24 students from Principia Middle School came to the Chess Club and the World Chess Hall of fame for a fun and informative field trip. The students got a tour of both facilities, met Grandmaster Ben Finegold and enjoyed an action-packed afternoon.
Principia Middle School classes will run twice a week until the first week of December. Classes at the Elementary School are in the process of being scheduled for the spring semester. It is a pleasure to work at the beautiful Principia campus and engage their students in chess. I owe a special thanks to Mr. Moyle; without his interest, this would not have been possible.
