DESERET NEWS PROBLEM 2,684
White to move and mate in two. Solution to Problem No. 2,683: 1. P-Q3 (Pd3)."Not only can chess teach patience and concentration, programs are finding, but also it may offer a special benefit to poor urban children, helping to divert them from the lure of crime and drugs and to develop an interest in their studies."
The above is an observation of Robert Byrne, chess editor of the New York Times, concerning the several programs being developed and sponsored by various organizations and companies to offer chess programs as an aid to educational programs of all sorts.
Incidents pointing to the benefits of chess as a teaching tool have been turning up for some time.
One of the most striking examples occurred 33 years ago at Wadleigh Junior High in Harlem, Byrne points out.
"There was a hard core of 25 highly disturbed children that set the tone for the student body of 1,500," Milton Finkelstein, who was assistant principal at the school, said in a recent interview.
"We identified them from police records. We decided to give them chess and to make it an honor to be taught the game."
Finkelstein recalled that the chess training was so successful in improving the classroom performance and behavior of the original 25 students that it was extended to the school as a whole.
Later, Wadleigh outscored four other junior high schools in Harlem on a variety of tests in a five-year experiment in which the other schools received learning incentives, including special reading classes and class trips to shows and circuses.
Wadleigh, as the control group, received no such help, but it finished higher than the other schools in all studies, Finkelstein said.
More recently, chess programs for inner-city pupils in Indianapolis and Philadelphia have gained national attention as the children gained strong reputations in school tournaments.
The current New York City program, which started two and a half years ago, is the brainchild of Faneuil Adams, a retired Mobil executive who now directs the program.
It is financed by the American Chess Foundation and is administered by the Manhattan Chess Club.
More than 400 classes of 45 to 90 minutes, are offered to groups of 10 to 25 students. There are no restrictions; anyone who wants to join can do so. Moreover, 20 seminars for classroom teachers, administrators and parents are given.
Proper scientific studies of the academic benefits of chess are scarce in the United States.
There are two unpublished doctoral dissertations: "Chess and Cognitive Development," by Johan Christiaen of Ghent National University in Belgium and "Chess and Aptitudes," by Albert Frank of the University of Dakar in Denegl. They both conclude that chess is an effective tool for general progress in the classroom.
-TOURNAMENT - What with all the hot weather, the Utah Chess Association has announced a "Fast Chess" tournament for August 19 - a Swiss-system, five rounds no less, all to be played in just one day - from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
The United States Chess Federation (USCF) rated meet will be held in two sections for players with a rating of 1800 and up and one section for those with less than an 1800 rating, including those "unrated."
It will be held at the West Valley Salt Lake County Library, 2880 West and 3650 South.
Michael Bone will serve as tournament director, with Robert Tanner, president of of the Utah Chess Association, as assistant. Both are USCF-rated tournament directors.
The fees for adult players (18 or older) will be $8 and for those under 18, $5. If not paid in advance by August 16, each fee will be raised $2 at the time of registration.
Trophies will be awarded to the winners in each of the classifications - A, B, C, D and unrated.
For additional information telephone Jay Todd, tournament sponsor at 943-4636.
-CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SOLVERS! - Covert Copier, Raymond Linner, Jim Turner, Paul R. Lindeman, Mel Puller, Lloyd Eldredge, Ardean Watts, Nathan Kennard, Ken Frost, Brian Griffith, John Nielson, Michael Marsch, Raeburn Kennard, Kay Lundstrom, Ann Neil, Joan Nay, Harold Rosenberg, Hal Knight, Erick DeMillard, Edwin O. Smith, Mark Stranger, Al Nicholas, Brian Harrow, Robert Tanner, Hal Harmon, Allan Nicholas, Wendel Hurst, Mark H. Timothy, William DeVroom, William D. Rice, Carlene Pathakis, Ted Pathakis, John Nelson, Mike Nelson and Aaron Kennard.