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Summer Camp

Integrity Wins

Integrity has practical benefits. That’s why we put such a strong emphasis on sportsmanship during our camps, clubs, and tournaments. 

It is much harder to reach the higher levels of chess without the ability to honestly evaluate one’s own play. Those who believe that they had a winning advantage until they inexplicably had a momentary lapse and lost are often unable to correct the defects in their game. 

In camp this past week, we were pleased that the students exhibited excellent sportsmanship. As a result, every student made substantial strides towards becoming an excellent player.

The disappointments in losing games were tempered by their subsequent wins. The students know that practicing doing their best will pay off. Our discussion during the week revealed that improving one’s skills is the surest way to have fun, and that the result is the least important part of each game.

Our students this week showed great resilience, not giving up when things were not going well. They were gracious both in victory and defeat, making the camp a pleasure to lead.

Integrity and Hard Work Makes Students Successful

It was fitting that the camp we ran during the occasion of Judit Polgar‘s 50th birthday attracted the strongest female players we taught this summer. Emily, who had a spectacular week, would have won the camp championship had she won her final game on Friday.

That she came up short in that game against Alex, the winner of all nine tournament games he played this week, was not a letdown. This was a week about integrity and hard work, and how those two concepts combine to make chess fun.

During the week, we discussed how these character traits define Judit Polgar, the strongest female player in history. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar recently offered Polgar the Presidency of her country. She declined this high and prestigious honor, understanding that her life as a chess professional did not give her the qualifications to unite a divided nation.

It is not enough to be honest; chess players learn the value of integrity. Evaluating a position accurately requires accepting that every player makes mistakes and must find ways of adapting to unfavorable circumstances as well as finding ways to exploit advantages that opponents sometimes provide.

Thinking through positions often is difficult. Students such as Emily found great pleasure in figuring out hard things. Having fun by working hard makes a student successful, and we take immense satisfaction in watching great young people mature into leaders.

Lessons Taught Through Chess

When groups of talented children and adolescents work together, they learn more than just chess. Our camp last week included several players with substantial tournament experience, and we were pleased that many new friendships were formed at the same time that chess skills were honed.

The camp included many kids with advanced skills, while others were more in the intermediate range. The advanced students discussed games that were played by masters, saw that masters make mistakes, too, and learned how people win chess games by taking advantage of those mistakes.

The lessons made clever students work together to figure things out. Rarely was the first thought of any kid correct, but other kids were present to help the group arrive at better answers. By working together, students practiced social skills that will be at least as important as the chess skills they improved.

The camp covered a wide variety of principles of various levels of complexity. Students learned how to spot checkmate patterns, and when checkmates were not available to “settle” for winning material. They also saw the risks of grabbing pawns without considering the consequences. We hope students learned that there is value in delaying gratification.

Several of the top players from last week will be with us again this week, so we can make further progress. As these kids take the lessons from the camp into tournaments, we expect to see excellent results.

No Non-Player Characters in Chess

Last week’s campers learned how much fun meeting peers over the chess board should be. Instead of watching others play a sport on television, these students learned to compete with every move they played.

So much of life for this generation involves looking at a screen. There is none of that in chess camp. Our students learn social skills as they develop the ability to think for themselves about the moves they will make in an effort to win.

Chess does not accept Non-Player Characters. Chess players learn what it means to plan ahead. They incorporate general strategic principles into a framework of rules and tactics in order to find ways to win. They see that nothing good comes from giving up and the more effort they put into the activity the better their results.

 

All players lose about as much as they win. Learning to accept failure is an important skill, and players who can view losses as challenges to overcome have developed a skill they will use throughout life.

By participating in all of our activities in summer camp, the children learn to fully engage their natural talents. They become engaged citizens, avoiding the Non-Player Character label all of us should want to avoid.

Summer Chess – What a Great Idea

The U.S. Chess Center’s summer got off to a great start with the camp at East Silver Spring Elementary. Students ranged from third grade to ninth, and all left knowing a lot more than they did when they arrived.

Our camps, unlike our after-school clubs, feature students receiving one-on-one instruction every day with our adult teachers, in addition to small-group and large-group lessons based on our observations of the games the students play with their peers.

All of our camps emphasize the important endgame skills, and all of the students came away with greater understanding of the techniques they need to succeed in their games. Most of the campers at this camp also needed to internalize basic opening principles, and we had several lessons over the four days focusing on that topic.

We also had discussions about the immense value of good sportsmanship. Players improve their skills by taking enough time to find the moves that allow them to win in the fastest way. Several students have been playing chess online, and that provided us with the opportunity to learn the differences between online and over-the-board games. While both games use the same pieces, there are major emotional considerations when sitting at the same table as another player who also wants to win.

 

It seems that knowing less about an opponent would not be an advantage, but in chess it often is better not to have an opinion of the strength of the adversary. People often play worse when they believe they are stronger or weaker than the person sitting across the table. Young people, in particular, can become discouraged when facing someone they perceive as a strong player. Many people do not concentrate as well when they believe they can win without maximum effort. Because the most effective method of improving at chess is to practice doing the best a player can, doing anything less than one’s best is a waste of a chance to get better.

Summer Camp Season Continues in Northern Virginia

Starting with the first full week of July, our summer camp season moved back across the Potomac to Fairfax County, Virginia.  From July 7-11 we held camp at Churchill Road Elementary in McLean, an annual summer stop of ours for many decades, and were pleased to teach many new and returning campers.  The next week we moved a short distance down the road to Colvin Run Elementary in Vienna, where we drew nearly 30 students of all ability levels.  

Most recently we spent the week at Haycock Elementary; the Haycock camp strongest group of players that we’ve taught this summer.  Mr. Anderson used a Fischer-Kavalek game as the basis for many of the lessons, and Mr. Mehler provided personal anecdotes about Grandmaster Kavalek, as well as stories about Fischer, to bring the game more to life. 

All of our camps incorporate tournament competitions, large and small group lessons, and individual one-on-one evaluations to help the students master important skills.  No matter what their playing strength entering the week, each student leaves camp on Friday knowing more than when they arrived the Monday before.

Photos from Chess Camp at Takoma Park Middle School

Our summer camp season continued last week with a camp at Takoma Park Middle School in Montgomery County, MD.  Nearly 30 students showed up, ranging in strength from beginners to experienced tournament players.  No matter their ability, everybody learned something new over the course of the week, and the camp concluded with a tournament during which the students put their knowledge to use.

We returned to Northern Virginia this week with our camp at Churchill Road Elementary, and next week we start at Colvin Run Elementary.  There’s still space open at most of our camps over the remainder of the summer, so come sign up to join us!

New Season of Summer Chess Camps is Up and Running

Our summer season started yesterday with a camp in West Springfield, VA. The kids are enthusiastic, enjoyed playing in a tournament to start the week, and are learning a lot of the strategy of the game. We will have another tournament on Friday, and the winner of that tournament will receive a trophy.

Next week, we will be in Takoma Park, MD, and after that in other schools in the area, each for one week.

Several students who have been with us in previous years have registered for more than one week, and we look forward to watching them learn new things.

Our tradition of running summer chess camps is among the longest running in the country, and we always have at least one teacher per every ten students.  Space is still available in most camps, and registration is open at https://chessctr.org/summercamps/.

Photos From a Great Season of Summer Camps

Our last week at Alpha STEM in Chantilly brought the curtain down on a fun summer of chess camps, during which we had around 150 kids enrolled with us.  We spent time teaching students in Springfield, Chevy Chase, McLean (two weeks) and Vienna (two weeks) prior to the aforementioned camp in Chantilly.

Some of our summer students we knew already from our after-school chess programs, while there were others we were happy to meet for the first time.  As usual during our camps, we had all ability levels represented; some of the kids were beginners who learned the rules and strategy of chess over the course of camp.  Other students used the time to build on the basic knowledge of the game that they already had.  All of our lessons were structured and stratified so that everybody was challenged to learn something new.

In between the lessons, the kids relieved some tension in the school gymnasium and made new friendships over skittles games.  Each Friday of camp finished up with a tournament, during which the students got to put what they’d learned during the week on full display.

Chess helped us all make a lot of great memories this summer, and with the new school year nearly upon us, we are already looking eagerly ahead to the start of our after school clubs in just a few short weeks.

Summer 2024 Chess Day Camps – Registration Now Open

REGISTER NOW for Summer 2024 Chess Day Camps

Since 1992, we have been providing challenging instruction and making chess fun for students.  Our nationally certified chess teachers are experienced with all levels of ability.  Camp will be challenging and interesting for all and our focus is on improving chess skills through practice and lessons.  The teachers place more emphasis on learning than on winning.  Good sportsmanship is the key to having fun.

Thousands of students have participated in our camps, with many enjoying camp so much that they return year after year and dozens continue to play at a master level.  Our students have won more than a dozen national championships, hundreds have earned academic college scholarships, and more than 20 have become national masters. 

Our summer chess day camps consist of chess instruction and play, as well as recreational activities.  Camps start at 9:00 am ET and end at 3:00 pm ET.  Aftercare (until 5:00 pm ET) is available for an added fee.  Campers need to bring/pack a bag lunch each day. 

There will be about one teacher per ten students and enrollment is usually capped at 32 campers total for each week. Depending on the week and camp location (see below) students rising into grades 2-7 or rising into grades 3-9 are welcome.  

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Camp Week #1:  June 24-28, 2024
     White Oaks Elementary School in Burke, VA (Map)
     Rising Grades 2-7 (Beginners to Intermediate)
     REGISTER HERE for Camp Week #1 

Camp Week #2:  July 1-5, 2024 [No Camp on July 4th]
     Location TBD (in Montgomery County, MD)
     Rising Grades 2-7 (Beginners to Intermediate)
     More details and registration available the first week of May 2024.

Camp Week #3:  July 8-12, 2024
     Churchill Road Elementary School in McLean, VA (Map)
     Rising Grades 2-7 (Beginners to Intermediate)
     REGISTER HERE for Camp Week #3

Camp Week #4:  July 15-19, 2024
     Churchill Road Elementary School in McLean, VA (Map)
     Rising Grades 3-9 (Intermediate to Advanced)
     REGISTER HERE for Camp Week #4

Camp Week #5:  July 22-26, 2024
     Colvin Run Elementary School in Vienna, VA (Map)
     Rising Grades 2-7 (Beginners to Intermediate)
     REGISTER HERE for Camp Week #5

Camp Week #6:  July 29-August 2, 2024
     Colvin Run Elementary School in Vienna, VA (Map)
     Rising Grades 3-9 (Intermediate to Advanced)
     REGISTER HERE for Camp Week #6

Camp Week #7:  August 5-9, 2024
     Alpha STEM for the Gifted in Oakton, VA (Map)
     Rising Grades 3-9 (Intermediate to Advanced)
     REGISTER HERE for Camp Week #7

For more information about our summer chess day camps, call us at 202-857-4922 or email admin@chessctr.org.

Summer Camp Season is in Full Swing

Our summer season of chess has kicked off with day camps at Churchill Road Elementary School in McLean, Virginia.  During the last week of June we drew two dozen campers for the first week of camp designed for newer players, and twenty students have joined us at this week’s camp geared toward more advanced students.

 

The camp curriculum is designed to be challenging to every student who shows up.  Our beginner students are learning basic endgame skills like checkmating with king and queen versus king or king and rook versus king, while our more advanced students are figuring out more difficult endgames.  No matter their skill level, everybody leaves camp at the end of the week with more knowledge than they had at the beginning.

In between games of chess, we take the students outside for Capture the Flag and other competitions.  It’s important to be able to take a break from chess every so often, but it’s also important that we’re always strategizing, even when we’re running around outside!
 
Each camp finishes up on Friday with a tournament.  Many of the students already come to us as tournament veterans, but for some of our newer players this is their first ever experience in any kind of chess competition.  Win or lose, they have all acquired skills and confidence to put to use as they continue to branch out into chess.
 
After this week, our camps move to Fairfax, Virginia (Greenbriar West Elementary) for the week of July 17-21, before two weeks of camp in Vienna, Virginia (Colvin Run Elementary).  We then finish up the summer spending the week in Takoma Park, Maryland (Piney Branch Elementary).  Space is still open at all our remaining camps, so there is still time to sign up to join us later this summer!

 

More information and registration: Summer Chess Day Camps – U.S. Chess Center (chessctr.org)

Chess Summer Camps Wrap Up in Oakton

The chess camp season ended with a terrific camp in conjunction with AlphaSTEM in Oakton. Many of the students were new to us and the geographic diversity was great, with kids coming from Washington, DC, two communities in Maryland, various parts of Fairfax County, and Loudoun County.

Everyone who came was engaged and enthusiastic about learning the strategy of chess and all left with the skills to be able to compete effectively in the national scholastic championships that will be in the National Capital region this year.

 
We appreciate the help we got this summer from various volunteers, especially Zach (who helped for two full weeks).
 
We’ll see most of our campers in after-school clubs this fall, and others in the Theophilus Thompson Club on Sundays.

Chess Camp Comes to Northwest DC

Our staff was excited to return to the headquarters of the DC Housing Finance Agency in the Cardozo-Shaw neighborhood of Washington for our latest week of camp.  We had a range of ability levels represented among the dozen students who showed up, and everyone, regardless of playing strength, worked hard and learned something new this week.

We now move to Oakton, Virginia for the final week of our summer camp season, at Alpha STEM for the Gifted, and there is still time to register to join us.

Scenes From the Second Week of Colvin Run Camp

August 1 to 5 was the second week we spent at Colvin Run, traditionally one of our strongest camps.  The students were subjected to some rigorous tactical and endgame exercises over the course of the five days and they rose to the challenge.  As usual, we were impressed with the level of skill on display, especially in the Friday tournament that concluded the week. 

Chess Summer Camp Season Continues at Colvin Run

Approximately 20 students joined us this past week at Colvin Run Elementary to improve their chess skills, play outside, and make new friends.
 
The first week of camp at Colvin Run is typically designed for children at the beginner to intermediate level.  Throughout the five days we rehearsed the opening principles, practiced finding tactics, and studied up on fundamental endgames.  The students learned a lot throughout the week and, come the Friday tournament, they put that knowledge to good use.
 
We’ll stay at Colvin Run next week with the camp for intermediate to advanced students.

Chess Camp Returns at Churchill Road

The Chess Center is excited to be able to resume our in-person summer camps.   Our camp season began this past Monday at Churchill Road Elementary School in McLean.  Nearly 30 students are joining us this week to hone their chess skills and make new friends.

Our day camps combine high quality chess instruction and practice with outdoor recreational activities.  The chess lessons are structured so that all the students are challenged and no one is bored.

Our camps typically run from from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. on Monday through Friday with aftercare available until 5.  Registration is still open for several weeks later in the summer, including camps in Vienna, Oakton and northwest Washington, DC.  

Chess Class at the Seafarers Foundation’s Summer Youth Program in Annapolis

The US Chess Center was pleased to resume our summer chess classes in partnership with Seafarers Foundation’s Summer Youth Program in Annapolis, MD.  Led by Greg Acholonu, the chess class has approximately 90 minutes of instruction and play each day over the two week camp, culminating in a camp tournament on the final Friday. 
 
Thank you to our board member, Dr. Derrick L. Cogburn, and the Seafarers Foundation for allowing us to share chess with their campers.