Page 68 - Best Chapter Spring 2017

' _ _ 5' tr? ..-
‘ S r . '_ ‘
. ‘ I r ‘. r _ »._
‘I \ '\ _- . . ' lace at Paul Brown Stadium on March 24-25, hosts
. .. _ , ”T‘ P
I ' Al N‘ ' 1 ' up to 700 children from as many as 12 states.This
. ' - ir year, the weekend event welcomed back Ugandan
. . . _. ' . . I “_f i_,_ 7*’ chess star Phiona Mutesi, the chess player who
' ' ‘ r "" V r‘ w l__ ._._ i I‘ '1' 74;‘ inspired the book and movie “Qieen of Katwe,”
] r ... g u; I 1" tr“ " and her coach, Robert Katende.The duo also
_‘ ‘ __ ‘xii ‘ ~ g “*1-__ I attended last year’s chess tournament asirecipiernts
. ornrlzr ‘ .;._'_ . -_ ‘ of the Cris Collinsworth ProScan Fund s Shining
‘ A - 1- . , Knight Award.
4 r. r. , 2‘ .‘ _
l ’ 3”‘ I . .
' _ .7;-" «L. J _,, ,r.., . , ' ' Playing chess requires discipline, and it also requires
"M". . , » - r- ' “ " ' \ '1 ; _ strategy. Players need to think about their next move
r _/ ‘ ‘ " ‘ _ T as well as learn how to anticipate their opponents
r'- L,‘ N C .35 "- __ '3?‘ '2 - ; next move.These critical thinking skills, plus the
‘_ 2- ' ’\ ’ -3: ‘ focus and intention it takes to sit and play a game,
‘A r _- " _ r r r "“‘ . inspired a big move: getting chess into the hands of
' . T‘ " .‘ ‘ T J - ‘ Cincinnati’s youth. In 2013, the Cris Collinsworth
I , ‘ " ' ' -_; _ A __,!r ProScan Fund created the Chess in Schools
, V‘ _ r r . L ‘ program to further educate children through the
. V_ r I i’ ‘ r game of chess.
' . '- l ‘ 555;‘ ‘ ‘ -‘
r A :1‘ Chess has a lot of advantages: it’s portable,
fa; -::g:f' ' __ -‘.'+- r ._ inexpensive, requires minimal setup, and has few
._.',,l_. l w «_'.r 3.1 -' yr _\ physical or verbal requirements. But the biggest
é'5.§f-’\ '«- -= _‘ ' ’ advantage of all is its ability to help children,
’_ -‘ ' especially children who come from at-risk homes
" or communities, develop social and critical thinking
skills that are typically hard to teach.
“The program is helping students understand that
Masters and Grandmasters play between 18 and 36 chess they are responsible for their actions,” said Maggie
matches simultaneously during the 16th Annual Queen'City Fermell, Director of the Cris Collinsworth proscarl
E/:::':'r'1c2(:fl:SS Tournament at Paul Brown Stadlum on Fnday’ Fund. “The kids have to shake hands before and after
' every game. They have to prepare for what happens
when they move their piece to a certain location.
“chess not only trains children to They learn that even though they lose a couple of
. pieces, the game isnt over.
concentrate for longer periods of
time, it also trains young minds to For the roughly 2,000 students at 32 schools across
think about the consequences of Greater CiCr11cinn}:11tiCalEd Nortsherrn l1{entucky who
. . are engage in t e ess in c oo s program,
the" next move‘ can you thlnk of those lessons are about life—not just about chess.
two life skills more valuable than The program is specifically designed for inner-
tha-t?H _ Cris Collinsworth city schools, most ofwhich are public. Chess is
introduced to students in the 2nd grade, and the goal
of the program is to continue that education
08 BEST CI IAPTER