“Does anyone have a white bishop?” called out a fourth grader as he looked around at his classmates who were busy setting up matching vinyl chess boards. As students unpacked their chess pieces, (with a few already diving into play), Upper School students on the Varsity Chess team divided themselves among the tables and began to coach the mix of beginner and intermediate players.
“What is the only piece that can jump over other pieces?” quizzed 9th grader Jaina Vithlani of her two fourth graders. “The Knight!” Anna, 4th, quickly answered. “And what happens if you get a pawn to the other side of the board?” she continued. “It can’t turn into a King,” mused Anna.
The midmorning lesson was a first for Varsity Chess team members and fourth grade alike. “Our goal is to really embrace the idea of community by teaching younger students chess,” explained Varsity Chess player Meher Walia. “Playing chess was a core memory for me when I was younger,” he recalled. “I remember when I was taught by older students and now I want to reciprocate.”
As Upper School students readied the room for play by pushing tables together and creating sets of partners, fourth grade teachers Katie Chuchul and Jessie DellaFera looked on. “Some of our students have experience with our after-school chess enrichment program,” noted Mrs. Chuchul, “that, and this exposure is a great opportunity for fourth graders to think about whether they want to join the chess club in Middle School next year.”
During the hour-long lesson, Upper School students walked through basic foundational skills and more strategic moves. “For beginners, we are teaching them the rules of how the pieces move, what checks are, and how to end the game. For more experienced players, as we watch how they play, we can show them openings and offer tips on how they can improve,” said Meher.
“At their age, playing chess builds critical and analytical thinking; you always have to be ahead of the next person, which is helpful later on in life with tests, classes, and projects,” added Meher. “And chess is so universal… I can play with someone who is five years old and they might be better than me, and we can bond over a shared passion.”
For many of the Upper School students, chess became a part of their lives during elementary school and provided a foundation from which they still draw upon today. “My favorite chess piece is the Knight because it’s really an unorthodox piece – it opens up a lot of plays that others don’t see,” shared senior Jared Williams, who started playing the game when he was 7 or 8 at a summer basketball program. “Chess taught me patience, how to lose gracefully, and how to accept failure,” added Jared, who was initially drawn to Friends because of its reputation as an excellent chess culture. “It also helped me make new friends when I came here.”
While fellow fourth graders, Henry and Jane shared their favorite parts of playing the game – “really setting up the other player;“ “it feels satisfying to capture other things,” Jaina mulled the interconnectedness between chess and life. “It’s a very intricate game, where different pieces have different values and you have to sacrifice one thing to accomplish something else,” said Jaina, who added that chess has helped her with prioritization.
While the room buzzed with questions, a certain kind of calm settled over the students as well as players studied boards with increasing focus and attention – something not lost on their teachers. “This is wonderful for students to be able to play together during the school day and practice those skill sets of anticipation and logic,” said Mrs. Chuchul. “It’s also the Testimony of Community in action,” she added. “When they saw this on the schedule this morning, they were so excited and there is real joy in the fact that we can find time in our day to prioritize community building.”
Photography by Alvin Caal