Chess Scotland Noticeboard

Pat McGovern · Bishop Joined: 10 Jan 2011 Posts: 24 Location: saltcoats

SNP take a leaf out of Armenia's book; here is an extract from Chess Magazine when talking about problems in junior chess; fascinating eh?

"This wouldn’t
be a problem in Armenia where it has
been announced that chess is going to
become compulsory!
The government has committed around
$1.5 million to a scheme that will see sixyear-
olds learn chess as a separate
subject on the curriculum for two hours a
week. Arman Aivazian, a spokesman for
the Armenian government declared that
chess lessons would strengthen
children’s intellectual development by
helping them to “think flexibly and
wisely”."

This in a country with GDP of 16.5 billion$ compared to Scotland's 194 billion $ (ppp) and with a population of 3.5 million compared to ours of 5.25 million. Question; why oh why cant we do the same????????

Paul Denham · Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 11:52 am Post subject:

Pat

Good shout.

I have often cited Armenia and Armenian chess as an example we should try to follow wherever we can. Its unrealistic we will ever get chess to the same level of national consciousness here in Scotland as in Armenia, at least not in my life-time, but it offers a model for us to look at and think - hey we in Scotland could adopt a similar initiative in X or in Y.

At a club level the work that Karel Van Delft has done in Appeldorn is an example of improving chess culture from the bottom up as opposed to the highly effective top down approach in Armenia.

There seems to be a strong desire for chess in Schools in Scotland - afterschool/lunch etc whether finances allow for it or not is another thing.

The weather is frequently duff in Scotland and kids are less physically active than they used to be and like computer games/screens no less than they did 10/15/20 years ago..... all stuff that could be capitalised on.

I often muse on whether or not if I won the Euromillions I could open a chess centre in Glasgow which had coaches on tap and a modest playing hall (32 boards say) and had dirt cheap (but good) coffee on tap to draw people away from the coffee chains and into this chess haven. Would it work or would there be no demand for it. What I have in mind is something a bit like the St Louis chess centre in America that opened a couple of years back.
( I have to stress before anyone gets there hopes up I am stilling trying, but with no significant success at winning the Euromillions)
I would have to do something to show my kids a work ethic and having someone really good (like Admin Wink

) run such a place whilst I dipped in and out of it would be just the ticket... anyway will stop typing and get back to my pipe dream... Smile

_________________
It is said that life is too short for chess but that is the fault of life, not chess

AMcHarg · Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 12:04 pm Post subject:

For this to happen we must raise the profile of Chess in the education circles. Why not write to Mike Russel with a costed proposal?

I don't actually think it's about financial allocation as much as it is about culture. Mandatory Chess would probably have a lot of parents complaining in this country and anything short of mandatory would not attract the numbers required for the benefits of Chess to be realised.

To overcome the opposition that would be faced we need to educate parents on the benefits of Chess and which subjects we think Chess could replace/compliment. Perhaps it doesn't need to replace anything if it's done as a 'project' in primary schools? Chess could even be incorporated into other types of lessons.

Paul Denham · Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 12:21 pm Post subject:

Have to say of the SNP dream team Russell is in my humble opinion very much the dregs though perhaps if you came at it via a curriculum for excellence approach he might perk up and if we just gave the teachers something like the Dutch Step by Step method they would have a ready made curriculum instead of having to prepare whole new courses with little or no support as is the case in many instances in schools right now.

Anyway Russell bashing aside, I agree it is a cultural thing in the main as in many regards chess is a low cost sport and many evening clubs put something on for juniors at low cost..

I am struck by the "if you build it, they will come" phrase from Field of Dreams. If we built it would they come??

My lunchtime Euromillions dreaming over my sandwich have gone up a notch - I started surfing retail properties to let ... how nice would it be to own the back half of Borders ... the bit facing Royal Exchange Square... A new Palace of Chess Art to go alongside the Modern Art Gallery....happy dreams.... how long before the rent would eat up all my winnings and I would be skint?? answers on a postcard
_________________
It is said that life is too short for chess but that is the fault of life, not chess

admin · Site Admin Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 1386

Well you double it as a FIDE office and that would be the rent covered

Paul Denham · Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 1:02 pm Post subject:

See

I knew you were the right guy to run my dream Chess Centre.

PD
Smile

_________________
It is said that life is too short for chess but that is the fault of life, not chess

Mike Scott · King Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Posts: 676 Location: Edinburgh

DMB · King Joined: 08 Mar 2007 Posts: 267

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13343943