Trenton Chess Camp

We’re excited to bring to you Impact Chess’s second time teaching at Trenton’s Sam Naples Community Center! This time, Joanna, Jonina, and I hosted a three day chess camp from July 29-31 for around thirty 8 to 12 year old kids. As many of the kids attending the summer camp didn’t have any prior chess experience, our end goal was to equip each student with the basics of chess.

Day 1:

We taught the basics of moving pieces and setting up the board using a slideshow and a demonstration board for visual references. Afterwards, we had kids pair up and race to see who could set up a chessboard faster, with one kid on each side of the board. Practice is key, so we also had the kids practice moving each piece correctly. Fortunately, the kids seemed very engaged and eager to play with their friends. 

After we completed our first lesson, we were told that there were newly installed chessboards at a local park the kids frequented and that although many of the kids really wanted to play, they didn’t know how. We resolved that by the end of the week, the kids would be able to have fun playing chess at the park with their friends.

Day 2:

As we saw from the first day, the kids were enthusiastic about learning and even more excited to get to play chess. We then continued on the basics and taught them how to capture and checkmate, promising that if they learned well, they might get to play a few games. After a little practice, many of them seemed to get the hang of it and moved on to playing real games with their friends, which I supervised to make sure no one accidentally made any illegal moves. A few kids looking for more practice did puzzles with Joanna and Jonina. We were pleasantly surprised to see how fast some of the kids learned, some getting to a level where they could correct their friends if they made a mistake. Even if others had some trouble getting the hang of learning to play chess, they were eager to continue learning and improving.

Day 3:

We held a freeplay day, which also acted as a refresher day for some. Joanna and Jonina facilitated games and puzzles with the more experienced kids while I taught four new girls the basics of chess. One of the staff members also asked to access the slideshow we used to teach so that if anyone had chess questions after we left, she’d be able to help.

At the end, all the kids walked away with a bag of fruit snacks and the ability to play (and maybe even teach) chess! For us, it’s also been an instructive and inspiring experience, as we learned how to teach chess to younger children and also got to see them learn.

Written by Joanna Hou & Cindy Zhou