Links
- Maryland Chess Association
- U.S. Chess Federation - Join Here!
Recent Posts
- International Master Chess Player Lives in P.G. County
- Be Someone
- July 2009
- Black International Grand Masters
- June 2009
Categories
 |
About
EAGLE Chess Academy is a non-profit organization devoted to extending the role of chess in our local communities.
Our Mission
Our mission is to bring the many educational benefits of chess to children ages 4-18 years old by providing chess enrichment programs. We wish to teach the art and science of chess to our students by providing them with expert instruction, and to organize opportunities to sharpen their skills. These opportunities include, but are not limited to, participation in tournaments, matches, camps, exhibitions, tours, and access to lectures, newsletters, magazines, books, and classes.
EAGLE Chess Academy promotes the study and knowledge of the game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, but also as a means for the improvement of society. It informs, educates, and fosters the development of players (professional and amateur) and potential players. It encourages the development of a network of organizations devoted to enhancing the growth of chess, from local clubs to state and regional associations, and it promotes chess in schools.
EAGLE Chess Academy provides basic and intermediate chess lessons for kids to learn the game of chess and a chess store where one can purchase tournament sets, boards, clocks, and educational chess books, software, and videos.
Our Vision
EAGLE Chess Academy is committed to using chess to improve thinking and problem solving skills in children. Our priority is to increase a child’s interest in learning how to play chess by making the game more accessible in schools and in popular culture. Chess can empower young people to think for themselves and respond creatively to the multitude of changes going on all around them. We are focusing on two things – expanding our chess programs nationally and supporting events like the Championships, Simuls and children’s competitive events. Chess has a low delivered cost of $100 per student per academic year, and will give children more opportunities to do well in school. As our events bring chess to a wider audience, and as the educational benefits of chess become well known, more teachers and students will adopt our curriculum around the nation realizing that chess is a way to teach thinking.
EAGLE Chess Academy provides a unique opportunity to develop and to learn in an environment that is not predicated on social or academic standing. Our purpose is to equip youth with one of the most important skills young people need to live a successful, productive life. That is the ability to think. The complex organ used for thinking is the brain. The brain is like a muscle and can be improved with exercise. One of the best exercises is playing the game of chess.
A lot of people think chess is very hard to learn and play. By having young people learn to play a game that is considered complex and difficult, their confidence and self-esteem are improved. The written and unwritten rules of chess require discipline, good behavior, and good manners. The need to make calculations based on the chessboard grid and the value of the pieces improve analytic thinking.
Our Philosophy
Our primary educational objective for teaching chess to children is to help improve their ability to think effectively. Equally important is our desire to improve their confidence in their ability to think. This is done by showing them what effective thinking is, how to use it, and what the benefits are. What’s more, questions are an important part of our teaching process. Questions are used to find out what children know and to help them answer the questions they have. Questions are a basic part of the thinking process in that they provide a track that children can use to figure things out.
Our philosophy uses questions to help emphasize the importance of using what one knows to think effectively. Students do not get bored or lose concentration if they are actively participating. This method excites students’ curiosity and arouses their thinking, rather than stifling it. Good thinkers all have extensive stores of organized information to draw upon.
The quality of students’ learning depends on how well students think about their work. Thinking takes time. We build think time into lessons, discussions, and activities. We ask leading questions to steer students toward the answer. We know reflection deepens understanding. Chess provides students with skills and opportunity to become better at observing and managing their thinking.
Why Teach Thinking?
- New standards are listing critical and creative thinking as required educational criteria for learning across the curriculum.
- Many standardized tests are being restructured to examine students’ capacity to actively use and apply knowledge.
- The teaching of thinking has been a persistent and noble educational goal for centuries and remains so today.
- Students do not tend to acquire thinking skills and habits of mind simply by studying regular subject matter in traditional ways.
- Good thinking leads to deeper understanding within and across the disciplines. Intelligence is learnable, hence it is teachable. As teachers, we are obligated to teach thinking.
Why is Chess Education Beneficial to Children?
- Chess develops all levels of critical thinking and cognitive skills (comprehension, critical analysis, evaluation, knowledge and memory, pattern recognition, and logic skills).
- Chess improves problem-solving techniques.
- Chess teaches concentration and discipline.
- Chess raises self-esteem.
- Chess promotes good sportsmanship.
- Chess encourages socialization skills that extend across cultures.
- Chess is fun to play!