A great way to teach kids how to overcome obstacles

(Thanks to generous donors in this area, Chess for Success started up in Salem this year at Washington Elementary.
Click on the link to add your support.)

Dear Chess Supporters,

I am writing you today with great news!  Thanks to you, this year Chess for Success was able to expand to 75 schools and is changing the lives of over 3,100 children.  Your donations allow us to help children who are living in poverty develop the skills that they need to be successful and rise above their circumstances.  By teaching children critical thinking, determination, strategy and patience we are giving them the tools they need to tackle any obstacle.  Chess teaches these skills, chess gives children living in poverty the power to dream big.  Don’t just take my word for it; listen to what one of our coaches says:

 “Knowing how to play a “smart” game boosts their confidence.  Many get a chance to use logic, planning, etc., and become more complex thinkers.  I love when they work out their own strategies and find success.” –CFS Coach

Thank you for recognizing the importance of education and the power of chess.  You are helping us achieve our mission and we could not do it without you. 

This holiday season we ask that you help us give the gift of chess to a child in need. Donate today and change a life forever.

A $10 donation buys a chess set for a child
A $25 donation provides a month of chess instruction
A $50 donation provides 3 chess books to the school library
A $150 donation sponsors a child for an entire year

DONATE LINK

Thank you for helping children succeed!

Warmly,

Julie Young
Executive Director

Capitol Chess Club -- new night/location

Image by Marcelo Munhoz via FlickrSalem's newer chess club, the Capitol Chess Club, now meets at Borderlands Games (next to the Willamette Humane Society) at 546 High St. NE, Salem OR 97301.

We will meet starting at 6 p.m. on TUESDAY nights.

We have enjoyed meeting at the IKE BOX and wish to sincerely thank Mark and Tiffany Bulgin and the crew at the IKE BOX for graciously welcoming us for our first year of chess. However, it's time to move to a location where we are more likely to encounter more chessplayers or people who want to learn how to play.

Pass the word to anyone you know who plays chess in or near Salem.

Hope to see you at Borderlands on Tuesday nights. And for you parents of kids who might benefit -- which is just about every kid -- there's this at A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village:

Chess Rules!
Starts Saturday, September 25
10 a.m. – noon
Any child who can be taught the alphabet can learn to play chess. In this class, kids will learn game strategies as well as hone their problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Class runs: 9/25, 10/2, 10/16, 10/30, 11/6 and 11/20. Ages 6-12. $42 members / $60 nonmembers.

Capitol Chess Club makes first move @ the Ike Box

Image by betsythedevine via Flickr

Fifty years from now, a small handful of middle-aged guys and maybe even a few hale really oldsters will be able to say that they were there when a chess club started back up in downtown Salem, as the Capitol Chess Club got launched today with a smallish but pleasant turnout at the IKE BOX. The club will meet every Monday night at 6 p.m. and play until close (8 p.m. through Labor Day, 10 p.m. thereafter). Join us!

TIP FOR PARENTS: Introducing your child to chess is one of the best gifts you can give. Check out this amazing site, Chess Magnet School, where you can find a carefully constructed set of chess lessons that start with absolute beginners and take them gradually through progressively-harder chess lessons that are truly wondrous. In chess as in languages, young people are like thirsty sponges -- they soak it up effortlessly, quickly mastering skills that us old folks struggle to master. There's a 30-day free trial (with full features) there, and it's very inexpensive to continue after that. Many of us old codgers are jealous of tools like this, imagining how much better we'd be at chess if we had such good instruction available to us. Check it out!

P.S. Chess Magnet School is not just for kids -- adults who know how to play but were never very good at it can get much better quickly too!

Calling Salem Chessplayers (all ages; humans only though)

Very poor loser. Image by eNil via Flickr

A new chess club is forming to offer players an opportunity to play in the evenings in the downtown area and to complement the existing Salem Chess Club, which meets on Saturday afternoons in the West Salem Library (1-5 p.m.).

We haven't got the final commitment from the venue yet, but it looks very good for a Monday night club at a very close-in downtown spot.

To find out when the first meeting will occur and to stay current on all the going-ons with the new "Capitol Chess Club," join the club's googlegroup (click that link). The googlegroup provides some webspace and an "announce only" email list, so you won't get any spam -- just info on chess in Salem on the east side of the river.

Anyone good at photoshop or similar? We need a logo of the Capitol building, with the Golden Pioneer replaced with a Golden King . . . Thanks!