REQUIRED READING
low-performing New York City
public schools.
Chess-in-the-Schools
Board of Trustees
Ward B. Chamberlin, Jr.
Larry E. Condon
Lewis B. Cullman
Muffy Flouret
Robert L. Friedman
Daniel J. Gross
Agnes Gund
Christopher E. Isham
Marley J. Kaplan
Galen D. Kirkland
Michael R. Margitich
Bobbi Mark
Robert B. Menschel
Dianne T. Renwick
Cody Smith
Daniel M. Solomon
Jeffrey L. Strong
Chess-in-the-Schools is proud to
share the news of our recent
presidential endorsement.
In his best-selling new book,
Giving: How Each of Us Can
Change the World, Former
President Bill Clinton writes glowingly about Chess-in-the-Schools
and our success with students in
A vocal proponent of providing
opportunities to underprivileged
kids, President Clinton has a long
history with Chess-in-theSchools. In 2000, the thenPresident and First Lady hosted
the National Elementary Chess
Champions from Bronx school
CES 70 for an afternoon at the
White House. A few years later,
President Clinton made a personal visit to the Chess-in-theSchools headquarters in Manhattan
to applaud our students.
Chess-in-the-Schools is pleased
to be highlighted as a standout
example of success among the
world-class nonprofits included
in President Clintonʼs inspiring call
to action. k
SQUARES
”
We have hard
evidence that
Chess-in-theSchools works,
for $100 a
student.
-Excerpted from Giving.
Copyright © 2007 by
William Jefferson Clinton.
All rights reserved.
Published by Alfred A. Knopf, a
division of Random House, Inc.
For Program Information k Tournament Dates & Registration k To Donate
Chess-in-the-Schools, 520 Eighth Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10018 Phone: 212-643-0225 Fax: 212-564-3524
www.chessintheschools.org
sixty-four
Winter 2007 Edition
The Newsletter of Chess-in-the-Schools
MORE THAN 400,000
It all started with a simple phone
call to a struggling school in
Harlem. “Would you like us to
teach chess to your students?”
The principal tentatively said okay
to the stranger on the phone.
That first year, 1986, was an
experiment. Can such a complex
game be taught to low-performing
students? Will the students enjoy
learning the game? Is there a
benefit to teaching these students
chess?
The answer to all of the questions
was a resounding YES. The students took to the game immediately.
They practiced before and after
classes while increasing their school
attendance rates. Even the students
with the lowest grades benefited
from learning the skills associated
with chess.
Now, more than twenty years later,
Chess-in-the-Schools has said
YES to 400,000 students in New
York City. We taught them to play
chess, but more importantly they
learned to succeed.
Learning to play chess means
learning to think, learning to reason,
and learning to achieve. Our
students increase their math and
reading scores while they
develop skills that form a solid
basis for future learning.
This year we plan
to teach chess to
20,000 students
and continue to
provide academic
enrichment for students in need. We
can reach our goal
if we have support
from our generous
donors.
think about the 400,000 students
who have benefited from Chessin-the-Schools and your past
support. They have learned to
succeed because
Our math you and donors like
have been you cared enough to
make a contribution.
”
scores
on the rise since
our kids started
chess.
- NYC Elementary
School Principal
During this hectic holiday season,
we ask you to take a moment to
Please help us keep
these programs going
by renewing your
commitment
to
Chess-in-the-Schools
and our students.
Make a tax-deductible contribution
to Chess-in-the-Schools today.
Thank you! k
Please Save the Date
2008 BENEFIT DINNER
TUESDAY,
APRIL 1, 2008
at the
rainbow
room
For table information: 212-643-0225
Chess-in-the-Schools
520 Eighth Avenue, Floor 2
New York, NY 10018
Non Profit Org.
US Postage
PAID
New York, NY
Permit No. 999
GAME OF KINGS
Aberdeen, Scotland:
Host to the recent
“Chess in Schools and
Communities Conference”.
The University of Aberdeen
and Scottish Junior Chess, in alliance
with a number of chess federations,
hosted an international conference to
share ideas that have emerged from
research in the field of chess and education. This three-day event at
Kingʼs College in Scotland was
well-attended by stars of the chess
world and leaders in the academic
community.
As the largest school-based chess
education program in the United
States, Chess-in-the-Schools had
much to add to the discussion.
Representing Chess-in-the-Schools,
Fritz Gaspard delivered the keynote
address.
Conference attendees were impressed
with how Chess-in-the-Schools has
developed programs that address
student needs from third grade
through high school. In elementary
school we offer our School Program
complete with classroom chess lessons
and after-school clubs. For middle
school students, the School Program is
supplemented by the Bridge Academy
Program, which adds academic and
cultural enrichment activities. For our
high school students, the College
Bound Program offers comprehensive
daily after-school programming that
focuses students on academic
achievement and college admissions.
It was wonderful to share our
successes with fellow chess educators
and to see how chess can be a
cornerstone of an academic curriculum
anywhere in the world. k
CHESS IN THE CLUBHOUSE
On September 16th, Chess-in-theSchools cheered for the Mets
as they took on their divisional
rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies, with
the National League East title at
stake. Thanks to Chris Stamos of
SterlingStamos,
Chess-in-theSchools enjoyed watching the
game from a Diamond View Suite.
Even though the view was perfect,
the scene was not pretty. That
game represented the start of a
meltdown as the Mets slid from a
secure first place standing in their
division to a disappointing second
place finish that knocked them out
of post-season play.
At Chess-in-the-Schools we teach
our students about competition
and how to win or lose with grace.
Our Scholastic Chess Tournament
Program allows students to
compete nearly every weekend
during the school year. But the
trophies and medals we award do
not represent the true triumph. A
real victory is achieved when our
students learn from their mistakes.
After each round, win or lose, our
students analyze their games with
our coaches. They patiently go over
critical moves and set strategies for
future tournaments. This helps our
students plan for success in chess
and success in life.
Note to the Mets: Come
spring training, give us a
call. k
Mr. Chess
meets
Mr. Met.
FISH OUT OF WATER
Throughout the 2006-2007 school
year, middle school students in the
Bridge Academy received chess
instruction, tutoring, skill-building
workshops, and exposure to cultural
activities around the city. But it
was during the summer of 2007
that students were really engaged
beyond the limits of a classroom.
During the first summer of the Bridge
Academy program, students enjoyed:
➢ A four-week summer day camp
with advanced chess lessons and
academic activities,
➢ A week-long trip to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York to experience
campus life and focus on college
attendance as a goal,
➢ A week-long trip to Maine to
experience life outside of New York
City while participating in the
growing scholastic chess movement.
During their visit to Cornell University
to experience college campus life,
Bridge Academy students continued
their chess studies and academic
workshops in the classrooms of Cornell
while living in the dorms and eating in
the dining halls. Evening activities
focused on team building and
included exercises geared toward
creating a strong cohort of middle
school students that view attending
college as a possible and probable
goal. k
CHESS IN YOUR SCHOOL
Thanks to funding provided by the
New York City Council, Chess-inthe-Schools is teaching hundreds of
educators how to play chess and
how to teach chess in their schools.
A successful chess program helps
students master the skills needed
for academic success while improving
their reading and math scores on
standardized tests. Your students
can have the advantages learned
through chess if you participate in the
Chess-in-the-Schools Teacher Training Institute.
The Teacher Training Institute, a
component of the new initiative Project
Chess, offers weekend workshops
New masters of chess
etiquette show
their skills.
A LEGACY IN PRINT
Earlier this year, Chess-in-theSchools received a generous donation
of books about the history of chess,
chess masters, and chess strategies.
This incredible collection of hard to
find and out-of-print treasures came
from a longtime donor, Albert K.
Baragwanath.
While we were thrilled to receive such
a precious collection, all of us at
Chess-in-the-Schools were saddened
to learn that the gift was a bequest
and that Mr. Baragwanath had passed
away in November of 2006.
Albert K. Baragwanath, known to
friends and family as Barry, was
born in 1917 in Peru where his
father was working as a mining
engineer. He grew up in New
York City and graduated from
Princeton in 1940. He was drafted
in 1941 and was stationed in
Hawaii when the Japanese
bombed Pearl Harbor.
At an army dance, Barry met the
beautiful Eileen Flanagan from
Maine. After a whirlwind romance
lasting fewer than three months,
they were married by an army
chaplain in 1943. The couple had
three children: Joan, Janice, and
John.
After the war, Barry used the GI
Bill to go back to school and get a
graduate degree from Columbia
University in New York City. An
interest in photographing Colonial
architecture led him to the
Museum of the City of New York
where he was hired as a librarian.
The wonderful library and the following story came to Chess-in-theSchools
thanks
to
Janice
Baragwanath, Albertʼs daughter. We
are grateful to Janice for thinking of
Chess-in-the-Schools and we assure
her that we will be careful custodians
of her fatherʼs legacy.
The catch of
the day.
Are you a New York City public
school teacher? Have you always
wanted to have an active chess
program at your school? Now you
can – FREE.
THANK YOU BARRY
to all of the educators in public
schools in all five boroughs. Chessin-the-Schools will even supply the
needed chess materials to get the
program started in each school.
The upcoming Teacher Training
Institute workshop dates are posted
on the Chess-in-the-Schools
website along with registration
materials.
Barry became an
authority on Currier and Ives and
authored several
books about the
famous lithographers as well as
on the history of the Museum
where he worked until his retirement in 1980 as Senior Curator.
Barry learned to play chess as a
young boy and it continued to be
his favorite hobby no matter
where life took him. He also
loved listening to classical music,
was an avid photographer, and a
whiz at crossword puzzles.
Barryʼs daughter Janice recalled,
“Dad taught us to play chess. He
offered a reward of $50 to any of
us who could beat him. Sometimes I put on rock & roll music
to distract him, but he always
won.” k
Barry and Eileen
in 1945.
NEW YORK ROTARY TOURNAMENT
Chess-in-the-Schools is grateful to
Council Member David Yassky who
gathered support for the Project
Chess initiative and continues to
see the value of chess instruction
for all students. k
The New York Rotary Tournament,
held annually on Columbus Day,
is generously sponsored by
The Rotary Foundation of New York.