Chess Programs for Children at MCLS

If you stop by the Robbinsville Branch on a Wednesday evening, you may walk by a room with children learning how to play chess. The room is filled with chess boards on tables, children sitting at chairs in front of the boards, high school student volunteers perched at the ends of tables monitoring games and instructing how to play, and parents sitting around the sides of the room or up close watching their child’s game. Children, ages 5 and up, pair up and play a game and then look for another open game when they finish. Sometimes a child is able to play up to three games in one program, or sometimes they may not even finish one game, depending on how the pieces are moved.

The Queen’s Gambit Netflix show in 2020 sparked a renewed interest in chess. Children have told me that they learned chess from Bluey and insist on calling the rooks castleheads (it’s Season 3, Episode 10, titled “Chest” if you’d like to watch it). But chess is a timeless game. People have been playing it for 1,500 years. Playing chess is good for a child's brain development as they will learn critical thinking, problem-solving, and memory skills. Additionally, they learn good sportsmanship and patience.

Usually, the youngest and newest players cannot sit for the full 45-minute program when they are learning because chess makes them use their brain and think very hard. They may get tired and a little frustrated if they cannot remember how the pieces move or all of the rules. And that is okay! These players may take a break or leave and come back another time. Once children gain an understanding of the basics, their confidence grows, and they may further their chess knowledge with strategies and special chess moves like castling and en passant. Chess should be fun and not overwhelming or discouraging when a child is learning.

Some children attend the chess program because their parents do not know how to play the game. Sometimes I see these parents sit at the table and watch the student volunteer’s instruction because they want to learn how to play with their child at home.

The high school student volunteers are one of the best aspects of the program. It is very special to see students teaching students. Student volunteers may fist bump the children at the end of a good class or a child may request to learn from the same student volunteer each week because they are forming a relationship. If we have a small class, the student volunteers offer 1:1 attention through games or they will put the chess pieces in a certain formation on the board to create a puzzle for the child to solve.

Is your child interested in learning how to play chess or in playing chess against other children? Check out the following chess programs at Mercer County Library System:

• Chess Club – Ages 5-12 – Ewing Branch – Sundays at 3pm

• Chess Club – ages 6-11 – Hopewell Branch – Mondays at 4:30pm

• Let’s Play Chess – ages 6-14 – West Windsor Branch – Mondays at 4:45pm

• Chess Club – ages 5-10 – Hickory Corner – Wednesdays at 4:30pm

• Chess Club – ages 5+ - Robbinsville Branch – Wednesdays at 5pm

Chess at MCLS is not just for children! The Hickory Corner Branch offers “Chess for Adults” on Thursdays at 6:30pm.

Please check the online calendar for program dates and to register.

Is your family interested in reading books about chess? Take a look at these books:

Chess by Mari Bolte

Chess by Tom Jackson

Chess for Children by Sabrina Chevannes

Get Into Chess by Rachel Stuckey

How a King Plays by Oliver Boydell

How to Win at Chess by Daniel King

The Life-Changing Magic of Chess by Maurice Ashley

My First Chess Book by Katie Daynes

The Usborne Chess Book by Lucy Beckett-Bowman

By Miss Grace, Robbinsville Branch