How To Start A Chess Club: Make It Fun

 

Welcome back new chess coaches!  In this article I will discuss some tips to make your chess club successful!

Make It Fun!

Why do most kids join chess?  Most join because they are looking for a place to belong.  Many also join because they know that chess is a challenging game and want to challenge themselves as well.

If chess club is not fun, many kids will drop out.  So what can I do to make chess club a place where kids want to go?

1.  Hold unrated tournaments. Kids love tournaments, rated or unrated -- hold your own tournaments. 

• Have a blitz tournament night.
• Hold a three-round mini tournament over the course of three or four club meetings.
• Start a "chocolate war" -- this is a single-elimination tournament.  Each round the winner and loser get a piece of chocolate.  However only the winner proceeds (draws must be replayed).  Each round the chocolate gets larger until there is only one pairing left.  The kids love it, and they get chocolate win or lose!
• Create an online chess tournament for your kids using ChessKid's built in tournament feature.  The kids love it!

 

2.  Have a movie night. I own a good collection of chess-related movies.  Each year I hold a movie night, where we invite our chess families to come. We show the video and have chips and nachos.  It's a great way for families to see what goes on in the chess world.  Last year, we went to see "Life of a King" when it premiered.  Movies such as "Searching for Bobby Fisher" and others are available.  Remember, chess is more than just pieces on a board -- with kids it's families and friends too!

3.  Play variant chess games. There are all sorts of variant chess games available.  Once in a while you need to shake things up at chess club.  Playing variant games can be just the thing.  My next article will focus on a number of variant chess games I use with my chess club. 

4.  Bring in guests. Local clubs abound with really strong players who love to come and share with kids.  Last year I brought in a 1900+ rated player.  He showed one of his games and analyzed it with the kids and then let the kids challenge him to blitz games.  The kids love these kinds of opportunities. (Shown left: guest speaker Jordan Bae Smith, rated 1987).

 

5.  Invite another school to come over.  Do you know of another school with a chess program?  Invite that school to come over or go there.  I did this just a few weeks ago.  No lessons, just friendly games between kids from different schools.  The kids had a blast, and at the next tournament friendships had already been made and the kids naturally gravitated to each other.  Kids will sometimes learn more from another child at a tournament in the skittles room than they will from a chess club lesson.

 

6.  Hold a club championship tournament.  I hold a six-round club championship tournament each year.  The tournament is played under strict USCF rules and has nice trophies and medals like any other tournament.  The student who wins the tournament also has the distinction of having his photo placed in the chess trophy display, and having his picture put in the school "Hall of Fame" section of our website.  The kids play their hearts out in this tournament.