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Kids' chess club at Collingwood Library
02 May 2010
One of the lesser know successes in town is a small but rapidly growing chess club for kids and teens aged 7 to 18. Run by Tim denBok, this group meets every Thursday at the Collingwood Public Library, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. It's no cost to join, but participants have to register (call 444-5516).
Local sports always get a lot of attention and recognition. Chess, like the arts and most intellectual activities, get less. Sometimes a lot less.
We have the mayor's golf tournament every year, but never the mayor's chess tournament (something I proposed back in 2008). Yet one of the club's members is in the top 20 players for his grade in Ontario, and another is in the top 50. Quite an achievement. We should celebrate our intellectual accomplishments as well as we celebrate our sporting achievements.
The Collingwood Public Library Chess Club had an interesting evolution. It had been a part of the Simcoe County Chess Club, but politics, bureaucracy and pigheaded management at the county level forced it to break free to form a local, unaffiliated club. Now it's developing on its own, with the support of the Collingwood Library, and is growing rapidly. That has given it freedom to develop independently and, I hope, create its own tournaments in the near future.*
I look forward to the day in the near future when we host our own Collingwood - or better yet, South Georgian Bay - chess tournaments.
This month the club just got 24 new chess sets from the library, and the library board is (at my request) looking into creating a chess garden in front of the new building with a large public chess board in front on Ste. Marie St (similar to the public chess board at Blue Mountain Village). I am excited and delighted by the support the library and its board has given to this venture.
Tim is also looking at creating a separate adults' chess club. There's already an informal chess club for adults that meets Monday nights at the Admiral's Post pub. That's also council's meeting night, so I can't get to it. I like the idea of playing chess over a glass of wine, but sometimes it's better to avoid the distractions of a pub. This would give local chess players two alternatives.
At the recent board meeting, Tim made a presentation about the benefits of chess for children. Based on dozens of studies and reports he quoted in his report, the research distills into a simple line: "Chess makes kids smarter." But as he also pointed out, "It's also a lot of fun." And it's mentally challenging and educational in ways many other board games aren't.
Chess remains one of the foremost means to teach logic, planning, strategy and tactics to kids. I look forward to the day Tim brings his champions to present at council so the whole community can share the celebration of their success.
Meanwhile, if you want to join as an adult or you want your kids to join contact Tim denBok at 444-5516. I look forward to seeing some of you there, and challenging you over the chessboard.
~~~~~
* I suggested a challenge where the kids could play members of council as a fundraiser. I'm not sure how many - if any - others on council can play chess, however. It might be embarrassing for a councillor to be beaten by a seven-year-old. But I'm up for the challenge, and if a kid can beat me - great! Let's sing his or her success and make this kid a community celebrity!
Local sports always get a lot of attention and recognition. Chess, like the arts and most intellectual activities, get less. Sometimes a lot less.
We have the mayor's golf tournament every year, but never the mayor's chess tournament (something I proposed back in 2008). Yet one of the club's members is in the top 20 players for his grade in Ontario, and another is in the top 50. Quite an achievement. We should celebrate our intellectual accomplishments as well as we celebrate our sporting achievements.
The Collingwood Public Library Chess Club had an interesting evolution. It had been a part of the Simcoe County Chess Club, but politics, bureaucracy and pigheaded management at the county level forced it to break free to form a local, unaffiliated club. Now it's developing on its own, with the support of the Collingwood Library, and is growing rapidly. That has given it freedom to develop independently and, I hope, create its own tournaments in the near future.*
I look forward to the day in the near future when we host our own Collingwood - or better yet, South Georgian Bay - chess tournaments.
This month the club just got 24 new chess sets from the library, and the library board is (at my request) looking into creating a chess garden in front of the new building with a large public chess board in front on Ste. Marie St (similar to the public chess board at Blue Mountain Village). I am excited and delighted by the support the library and its board has given to this venture.
Tim is also looking at creating a separate adults' chess club. There's already an informal chess club for adults that meets Monday nights at the Admiral's Post pub. That's also council's meeting night, so I can't get to it. I like the idea of playing chess over a glass of wine, but sometimes it's better to avoid the distractions of a pub. This would give local chess players two alternatives.
At the recent board meeting, Tim made a presentation about the benefits of chess for children. Based on dozens of studies and reports he quoted in his report, the research distills into a simple line: "Chess makes kids smarter." But as he also pointed out, "It's also a lot of fun." And it's mentally challenging and educational in ways many other board games aren't.
Chess remains one of the foremost means to teach logic, planning, strategy and tactics to kids. I look forward to the day Tim brings his champions to present at council so the whole community can share the celebration of their success.
Meanwhile, if you want to join as an adult or you want your kids to join contact Tim denBok at 444-5516. I look forward to seeing some of you there, and challenging you over the chessboard.
~~~~~
* I suggested a challenge where the kids could play members of council as a fundraiser. I'm not sure how many - if any - others on council can play chess, however. It might be embarrassing for a councillor to be beaten by a seven-year-old. But I'm up for the challenge, and if a kid can beat me - great! Let's sing his or her success and make this kid a community celebrity!
I hope that council members will revisit your challenge to play some of the members of the Collingwood Public Library Chess Club. It would be a great way to incorporate inter generational programming and promote the game further in our community.
