Building a High School Chess Program From The Ground Up

I'm a history teacher at a high school in Western NC.

I have been the advisor of our chess club for the last five years. Right now we are strictly recreational. Meet every week and play chess for fun.

I want to take my club to the next level. We are located in a college town and we have a lot of really smart kids that could do some great things with chess.  

If there are any other advisors or coaches out there I would love to hear ideas. Things you're doing with your club members/students/players to help build chess skills and chess thinking.

Respectfully,

Mike.

Hi Mike. I run a company Premier Chess (www.premierchess.com) and have a few high school programs. The biggest thing is its important to explain to students than rather being a distraction to school work, SATs, other extracurriculars, etc., it's something that could actually help them get into college. I point them to my college essay which was about chess. Happy to chat if you have any questions; you could email me at [email protected]. 

Thank you everyone. I appreciate your ideas.

I think there are a number of things to start and make a high school chess team succeed.

In Oregon we actually have an Organization called the Oregon High School Chess Team Association.  It more or less tries to incorporate the same type system as other High School sports regarding the divisions based on school strength.  So for me it may have been easier than most.

It all began with teachers like yourself, teaches are the mainstay as they are around for years teaching and it follows they are the key to longevity.

If your serious there is likely other High School teachers in other schools who would join you for a long term goal of forming a yearly competition between the High Schools.

In Portland Oregon we meet at Lincoln High School which is centrally located to the schools around it. On Wednesday we have league play which starts in late October and runs through March.  Any schools may compete even middle schools. They are five member teams. In March there is a High School Championship which might meet anywhere in the state.  Always held  at the local High School you can understand why teachers are the anchor in the whole affair. Teachers in a lot of cases are only mentors in some cases. Parents are often eager to start teams as their kids are good players.

I was such a parent who happened to import chess sets so i always donated chess sets and boards and clocks to all the schools my son attended. I assisted middle school and grade school teachers in some cases 1 to 3 days a week after school.

My sons high school did not have a chess team when he started. I went to the athletic director and told him I wanted to start a chess team, intenting to compete in the High School league and play in the yearly state championships. I told him I would supply all the sets, boards, and bags and equipement if he provided the clocks and awarded Varsity letters to those who played on the team.

He was a chess player himself so I was lucky.  He said well Dennis the kids think those letters are pretty important so give as many as you want.  So I did.  I started with five students and by the end of the first year I had a team of 16.  Three teams competed in the Championship one in the open section.

I think the reason my team became a huge success in High School was because I treated the beginners like the best players, in fact I gave them more attention.  After they played a league game I made sure to ask them how it went and if they had fun.  Every one always gets thier adrenilan running when competing.  The team would meet in the library as well as anyone else who wanted to join.  The librarian would always try to chase those out of the library that were not on the team but I would say they were joining the team I kept anyone who would show up .Lets face it no  one wants to be on a team of 5 you get tired of playing one another. On Fridays the library became a social meeting point I would have 20 to 40 students in there playing chess, I just kept donating more and more chess equipement.  From those attending chess club on friday I recruited students constantly.  I also donated high quality plastic sets and boards not the $3 kind  the $40 kind.  I think that is important as well

I told each recruit look look join the team get on the bus during league at least twice (12 week season) and compete in the State Team Championships and I will give you a Varsity Letter.  I stessed to every member of the team your grades are more important. If you have a test or important paper to turn in skip the league match. Thats what they did.  I had team chess shirts made with a great logos on the front and back, Sweat Shirts as well.  I made it manditory for the team to wear thier team shirts and sweat shirts to school on league days. High School promoting the team.  At the weekly ralley  before the state championships the Athletic Director played a game of speed chess against my best player in the Gym before the entire school student body.  We also had a faculty vs the Varsity Chess Team before the State Championships.

By the time I left we had won several 4A state championships and one Overall Championships which the Athletic Director gave us a banner hanging on the Gym Wall with the rest of the teams.  My Varsity team consisted of 35 students when I left I awarded all Varsity Letters.

You have to make it as important a sport as football, basketball , soccer or anything else and the students will invest what time they can.  Once you get them to on the bus for a team match they are usually hooked for the duration of high school.  

I had a great deal of fun doing it, the team became quite a success and won back to back state championships before left in the 4A division all 35 team members were imortilized on a plaque mounted on the Gym Wall which was for teams which won back to back state titles.  I left in 2013 but assisted in 14 and to this day the team still thrives and continue to win state tiltles. 

Username I let my 8 year old son use this account so I'm not worried about the rating thanks though you're point is valid though if I was doing the playing.

Dennis, Thank you sharing that amazing story. We do not have chess as a recognized sport by our state athletic association but if our athletic department can govern the dance team then a chess club shouldn't be out of reach. You have given me a lot of avenues to consider pursuing. Thank you for your time.

By the way when I started the Varsity Chess Team the students had to buy their team shirts and sweat shirts. When I ran the Oregon High School Chess Team Championship at my high school which was an heck of a lot of work  I got the Boosters to sell their hot dogs, pizza etc just like the other major sports. I then got them to support the Varsity Chess Team, they now buy their uniforms and for their food when they travel for the State Championships. Not sure I made it clear the Oregon State Athletic Association runs football, baseball, socceer. The Oregon High School Chess Team Association is a seperate organization just to support high school chess they try to follow the same rules that the OSAA sports.  The Oregon High Schoo Chess Team Association was started by Teachers in our state and Parent Volunteers

Thank you Dennis.

Dennis Petersen, 

You are amazing!!  That is a great story!!  If I get involved, I will probably incorporate much of what you did!

Dennis, 

I have been researching, and the nearest schools with chess clubs are about two hours away. I'm going to have to find a different way to do things. Online I would guess.

I'm on the varsity chess team at my school. Some of the things we do are compete in the local high school chess league and have two inter-club tournaments a year with awards for the top player overall and the top new player, it's usually just gift cards. Also if you beat our coach in a blitz chess match you get candy some candy of your choosing and if five or more of us beat him in a simul he orders us all pizza. Another fun thing to encourage self-improvement is having a little sheet of accomplishments that they can do to get something, here its a pin (If you want more info on whats on our sheets just PM me =D). 

If you have no teams near you I suggest that you make a club on chess.com so they can compete against other clubs during the year and have tournaments and play among themselves during the summer. Maybe y'all could play against our team next year! Feel free to ask me any questions you have, I'm always glad to help out!

Thanks Trevor, 

We had our end of year pizza party today. It was great, we had eight kids there, seven of whom I expect to return next year. I would love to see that accomplishment sheet.

Next year we are going to expand and try to include our middle school kids in our club meetings, get them playing, from there we can start to think about the intramural tournament. I appreciate all the great ideas and stories. It is encouraging going into the summer. I am thankful for the feedback.

@OP. Your club should have many chess books on various topics like endings,tactics,strategies and openings. Your club should also have many chess boards and chess clocks. Provide a rating for your members as this will add a motivation for them to improve. Have a tournament for your club member. Join a tournament outside your club. Have a group chess studies on various topics. Give your club members some assignment. For example a tactic puzzle to solve.

Tell  your club  members about great players like Capablanca,Tal, Kasparov, Carlsen etc as it will inspire them about playing chess.

All good ideas, thank you jambyvedar.

Another thing, tell  your club  members about great players like Capablanca,Tal, Kasparov, Carlsen etc as it will inspire them about playing chess and one of them might even idolize them. Show them picture or video of Carlsen playing chess at young age.

@Dennis_Petersen I know you posted comments #6 & 9 almost 6 years ago, I appreciate the information you provided. I'm thinking about trying to start a chess team at a local high school and your post is very helpful.

I was fortunate in that the Athletic Department head was a chess player. I didn't know it at the time though. I had started chess clubs when my son was in second grade, did the same in middle school. When he got to high school I went to the Athletic Director and told him of my past efforts and was willing to start a team to play in the Portland, Oregon High School chess league. My goal was for the team to win a High School Chess Team Championship. Three of my grade, then middle school players attended the High School so we had a good start. I told him I would provide the sets and boards if he bought the clocks. In addition anyone who played on the Varsity Chess Team would get a Varsity Letter. His response was well Dennis The students think they are pretty important, so give out as many as you want. I did just that. By the end of the first year I gave out 16 letters by the time I left a year after my son graduated I was giving out 25 Varsity Letters. We actually had five member teams and their placement hinged on their chess ratings achieved by the State Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation. All league and State games are rated by the Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation. While the top 5 actually played as the Varsity in High School competition the next 5 played as JV the last 15 played in the Open Division. The key here for me as a coach was the 25 were the Varsity. They were all treated the same none were favored by me. The top players helped the less experienced. I picked Fridays as the day we practiced we basically took over the Library. I always figured it was best for the students as they were here for to get the best grades and education possible, and they could relax knowing the week end was at hand. We had about 10 girls on the team. We would often be there till six in the evening. It was as much a social event as a practice session. Our league games were on Tuesdays at another High School. Our school provided two 20 passenger school buses. I drove one another parent drove the other. I designed a Team Shirt in 3 color graphics, as well as a team sweat shirt. It was mandatory they wore these to the league matches and state championships. We would decorate the Halls and Cafeteria for the State Championships. We were recognized at Student Rally's in the Gym. Top rated team member would play the Athleic Director in a 5 speed chess game. We won two 4A State Varsity Titles, 5A State Varsity Title, 1 State Overall Varsity Title defeating the 6A champion which had Alexandra Botez on their team 3,5 to 1.5. The Varsity Team got a State Championship Varsity Banner in the Gym for that with all the other sports. 

Parent involvement is Key, Chess teaches them a great deal, I will always believe starting them early in life, I started my son in competition when he was in second grade I always along the way stressed it is not important you win the game, your doing it to have fun and learn. You learn more by losing than you do from winning. I had three students that attended all the school from middle scholl through high school, two are now doctors, one of which is my son, the other has a great well paying job. Need I say more. Extremely proud of all that played. Our team moto over the years came from a very famous woman Kate Taylor one of the key people who began the Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation in 2006 " Never give up and never surrender and good things will happen"

I hope I didn't bore you all