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Learning Chess Through History
November 3, 2017
This is addressed to those who have taught chess to youngsters: what do you think about a chess instruction course in which the history of the game is taught in depth?
I ask this because there is a new book out in which just that is attempted.
The book is:
Great Moves: Learning Chess Through History
By FM Sunil Weeramantry, Alan Abrams and Robert McLellan
Published 2017 by the Mongoose Press
371 pages
From the introductory Note to Teachers and Parents
“Great Moves Learning Chess Through History is the first course book designed to teach students how to improve and excel at chess while set against the backdrop of the game’s illustrious history.
The benefits of teaching chess to children go far beyond their time spent in front of a chessboard. Chess has been proven to cultivate and sharpen study and life skills. Through chess, students hone their critical thinking, deductive reasoning and strategic planning aptitudes. Chess improves focus and teaches children to stay on task. Parents and teachers have increasingly recognized that, as students gain confidence and become inspired by chess, they carry their newfound skills over to other disciplines, be it math and science or literature and the arts.
In Great Moves, children trace the history of chess through the palaces and cafes of London, Paris and New Orleans and through such historical periods as the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment and the American Civil War. Throughout their journey they are introduced to diverse cultures and geography and learn new vocabulary. The authors take a synoptic approach to the general history sections, which provide context to the development of chess and will, we hope, spark a curiosity so students are inspired to study each era in greater detail. The chess players and chess instruction receive more in-depth attention.
This book will work best with students who read at a minimum fifth-grade level. It is designed for those who already know how the pieces move and understand the concept of checkmate. The level of instruction increases in complexity as the student progresses through the book.
Great Moves: Learning Chess Through History has been reviewed by a panel of educators to ensure it is aligned with state standards around the country for English language arts and literacy in history and social studies it has also been field-tested in public and private schools, both as part of the core curriculum and in after-school programs.”
For lesson plans and additional resources visit
www.GreatMovesChess.org
________
Sunil is well-known in chess education and is perhaps better-known as the stepfather of GM Hikaru Nakamura. He is the author, with Ed Eusebi, of Best Lessons of a Chess Coach, 1993.
_______
The book is workbook-sized in five Parts with comprehension questions at the end of each section.
Quite frankly, I think that if the average adult player of today were quizzed on some of the historical writers and players presented, they would have a hard time of it.
The contents of Part I: Chess: Origins and Development:
The First 2000 Years of Chess
The Beginning of Modern Chess: Luis Ramirez de Lucena
Pedro Damiano: The Giuoco Piano
Ruy Lopez de Segura
The Fork
Pins and Skewers
Combining the Tactics
The Battery
The Italian Era: Giovanni Leonardo da Cutri and Paolo Boi
The King’s Leap/Castling
En Passant
Giulio Cesare Polerio/The Fegatello Attack
Scholar’s Mate
Finding Checkmate
Possible Outcomes of a Chess Game
Checkmate or Stalemate?
Checkmating the Lone King: Pattern Recognition in the Endgame
Time
Space
Gioacchino Greco
Discovered Attacks
Removing the Guard
King Safety
Part II. Dawn of the Modern Era
Part III. Chess Competition Turns International
Part IV. The Romantic Era
Part V. The First American Genius
_______
There are colour diagrams and illustrations throughout. It is a bit pricey at about 40 CAD.
Certainly, a curriculum such as this would be standard in something like the Kasparov School. That it could be taught now all around the USA is quite surprising to me. Too ambitious?
I would be interested in what ChessTalk members think.
November 3, 2017
This is addressed to those who have taught chess to youngsters: what do you think about a chess instruction course in which the history of the game is taught in depth?
I ask this because there is a new book out in which just that is attempted.
The book is:
Great Moves: Learning Chess Through History
By FM Sunil Weeramantry, Alan Abrams and Robert McLellan
Published 2017 by the Mongoose Press
371 pages
From the introductory Note to Teachers and Parents
“Great Moves Learning Chess Through History is the first course book designed to teach students how to improve and excel at chess while set against the backdrop of the game’s illustrious history.
The benefits of teaching chess to children go far beyond their time spent in front of a chessboard. Chess has been proven to cultivate and sharpen study and life skills. Through chess, students hone their critical thinking, deductive reasoning and strategic planning aptitudes. Chess improves focus and teaches children to stay on task. Parents and teachers have increasingly recognized that, as students gain confidence and become inspired by chess, they carry their newfound skills over to other disciplines, be it math and science or literature and the arts.
In Great Moves, children trace the history of chess through the palaces and cafes of London, Paris and New Orleans and through such historical periods as the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment and the American Civil War. Throughout their journey they are introduced to diverse cultures and geography and learn new vocabulary. The authors take a synoptic approach to the general history sections, which provide context to the development of chess and will, we hope, spark a curiosity so students are inspired to study each era in greater detail. The chess players and chess instruction receive more in-depth attention.
This book will work best with students who read at a minimum fifth-grade level. It is designed for those who already know how the pieces move and understand the concept of checkmate. The level of instruction increases in complexity as the student progresses through the book.
Great Moves: Learning Chess Through History has been reviewed by a panel of educators to ensure it is aligned with state standards around the country for English language arts and literacy in history and social studies it has also been field-tested in public and private schools, both as part of the core curriculum and in after-school programs.”
For lesson plans and additional resources visit
www.GreatMovesChess.org
________
Sunil is well-known in chess education and is perhaps better-known as the stepfather of GM Hikaru Nakamura. He is the author, with Ed Eusebi, of Best Lessons of a Chess Coach, 1993.
_______
The book is workbook-sized in five Parts with comprehension questions at the end of each section.
Quite frankly, I think that if the average adult player of today were quizzed on some of the historical writers and players presented, they would have a hard time of it.
The contents of Part I: Chess: Origins and Development:
The First 2000 Years of Chess
The Beginning of Modern Chess: Luis Ramirez de Lucena
Pedro Damiano: The Giuoco Piano
Ruy Lopez de Segura
The Fork
Pins and Skewers
Combining the Tactics
The Battery
The Italian Era: Giovanni Leonardo da Cutri and Paolo Boi
The King’s Leap/Castling
En Passant
Giulio Cesare Polerio/The Fegatello Attack
Scholar’s Mate
Finding Checkmate
Possible Outcomes of a Chess Game
Checkmate or Stalemate?
Checkmating the Lone King: Pattern Recognition in the Endgame
Time
Space
Gioacchino Greco
Discovered Attacks
Removing the Guard
King Safety
Part II. Dawn of the Modern Era
Part III. Chess Competition Turns International
Part IV. The Romantic Era
Part V. The First American Genius
_______
There are colour diagrams and illustrations throughout. It is a bit pricey at about 40 CAD.
Certainly, a curriculum such as this would be standard in something like the Kasparov School. That it could be taught now all around the USA is quite surprising to me. Too ambitious?
I would be interested in what ChessTalk members think.