Lower School Chess Club
The Lower School Sayre Chess Club is a totally parent run extra-curricular activity that uses the Sayre facilities for lessons and practices. The fees collected are used to pay the instructors, offer a healthy snack, and purchase equipment for the club. Supervision is provided by volunteer parents.
Chess Club is held in the Twin Parlors of Old Sayre on Tuesdays from 2:30 to 4:00 pm. Children who participate in Chess Club will be listed on a roster and will be escorted by a chaperone from the Lower School to Old Sayre at dismissal time. Students must be picked up from Old Sayre no later than 4:00 pm.
The chess club participants will be divided into two groups (based on their knowledge of the game): the novice group and the experienced group. The novice group will consist of children with little or no experience with chess. The experienced group will consist of children who play chess and understand fundamentals (castling, stalemate, opposition, etc.).
As children progress in their skill level, appropriate changes will be made in the format and degree of instruction to accommodate their chess abilities. Children may also move from the novice group to the experienced group as they master the game.
MEET THE COACH:
International Grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov will be the Lower School chess coach and teacher. He is rated the best chess teacher in the United States.
Upper School Chess Club students will assist Mr. Kaidanov. These students have been playing chess since the inception of the Sayre Chess Club in 2003.
SNACK:
Members of the Lower School Chess Club will receive a healthy snack and drink provided by the Buttery at no additional cost.
CHESS CLUB DECORUM:
It is expected that your child behave during chess club in a manner that is consistent with the code of conduct for Sayre students. Disruptive children will be excused from instruction and asked to sit in an adjacent area where they can be observed yet will be unable to participate. Children who are consistently disruptive are most likely not interested in chess and may be asked to be dismissed from the club.
TOURNAMENTS:
There is a wide variety of scholastic chess tournaments in which your child may desire to compete. These tournaments are stratified based on grade level (K1, K3, K5, K8 and K12). Participation in such tournaments requires membership in the United States Chess Federation. If you would like to get a feel for the various tournaments in the state of Kentucky and across the nation, please visit the following websites: Bluegrass Chess Association, Kentucky Chess Association and United States Chess Federation.
PARENT INVOLVEMENT:
As with all extra-curricular activities, parent involvement is crucial. Please volunteer to help out at one or two chess meetings (your game will definately improve).
LINKS:
The United States Chess Federation
Chess Games
The Internet Chess Club
For more information regarding the Lower School Sayre Chess Club, please contact Scott Bergstrom or Amy Dennis and for the Middle/Upper School Chess Team, please contact Kathleen Schwarcz.
