Club Structure and Procedures

 

Chess Club meets from 2:00PM to 3:00PM in the St. Louise Room.  The Fall Chess Club generally meets the last  Monday of September through the middle of December, consisting of 10 sessions.  The Winter/Spring Chess Club generally meets the last Monday of  January through the middle of April, consisting of 10 sessions. 

 

The St. Louise Chess Club is available to all K-8 students of the St. Louise School. 

 

The Fall Chess Club 10 sessions are $190.  Online registration is available.

 

The chess club is available to all levels of players, Yet, we will break the club into three groups so that lessons can be tuned to the players in the groups.  The three groups are: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. 

 

The Beginner group usually consists of players new to the game, with limited to basic knowledge of piece movement and rules of the game.

 

The intermediate group consists of players that have a solid understanding of the rules and gameplay, and are working on expanding their tactical play.

 

The advanced group consists of players that are ready for more advanced tactics and strategies. Many of these players regularly participate in local scholastic chess tournaments.

 

CHESS CLUB MEETING SCHEDULE:              
First 15 - 20 minutes -- Free play as the club members arrive for Chess Club.

Next 15 minutes -- Instructor lead lesson appropriate for each group. 

Final 15 - 20 minutes -- Practice time to explore the lesson presented or ladder games in the advanced group.

 

Parent volunteers will sign in the students as they arrive at the chess club.  We take diligent attendance and follow up on any absences.  At check out, parents are required to sign out their students prior to leaving.

 

Each group has a dedicated professional coach from Chess4Life.  We also require there to be at least one parent volunteer in each group to assist the coach.  The assistance consists of ensuring noise is kept under control and that the kids are respecting the coaches. 

 

Recently, we have added student volunteers, generally upper grade-level students that have been previous chess club participants.  The students help with setup and teardown, but they also fill in within groups when there are odd numbers of students.  This ensures all chess club participants always have a partner.  The student volunteers are eligible for service hours as they help the club.

 

The Club will attend two tournaments a year as a team: one in the Fall and one in the Spring. Dates will be announced as the Chess Club Manager locks in the tournament. All Club members that have a full understanding of chess rules are encouraged to participate. There will be a small fee charged by the tournament organizers for the event.

 

Student visitors will be allowed for a limited number of times the purpose of observing the Chess Club meetings to determine if they would like to join (space permitting.)