Address P.O. Box 180095, Chicago, IL 60618 Categories:  Education, Seniors, Youth Offers Opportunities Good For:  Adults, Seniors

  The mission of Chicago Chess Center is first and foremost educational:  to be not merely a chess club but a chess school, providing instruction and training to players of all ages and skill levels including providing instruction to Chicago Title I Schools. Our mission is also civic and recreational: to provide a welcoming and safe place to play chess with a diverse group of people, making the city of Chicago itself stronger and healthier by bringing together groups whom distance and differences have kept apart. We seek to engage and challenge the minds of our youth and teach logical thinking and reasoning skills as well as coping mechanisms. We seek to help Chicago’s youth learn the game of chess while working to build a community where individuals can come together regardless of age, gender or race to learn and play chess socially and competitively, while challenging their mind. One aspect of our commitment to our community is to teach underprivileged kids in Title I schools. We believe everyone can learn to play chess regardless of their background. Each school year, our goal is to work with 5-10 Title I schools in Chicago to provide elementary students with weekly one hour chess instruction and training as well as mentor the kids during tournaments 6 times a year. Our students are encouraged to play competitively. Two times a month, we offer United Chess Federation rated chess tournaments for beginners as well as for advance players. We seek to attract more women to the game of chess, as currently they are underrepresented in training and competition. We promote the cognitive benefits of chess: improving critical, logical and strategic thinking, increasing concentration, developing abstract thinking, developing pattern recognition and analytical skills. We also seek to build awareness that chess also teaches life skills: goal setting, coping with defeat, perseverance, respect for others, building friendships, and belonging to a community. We promote awareness of the benefits of chess for seniors for whom chess provides a social outlet, minimizes isolation, sharpens thinking skills and improves mental health. We are currently limited in our efforts as we do not have a permanent recreational chess center. Currently, we rent space from UIC, but opening a permanent chess center is a major strategic goal.

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