(CBS 11 News) DALLAS
Steve Pickett
Reporting
Nine-year-old Sydney Wright is having too much fun. She and seven year old Milagros Bria-Massaro are teasing each other from across the lunch table. One makes a move forward. The other counters with her own move. Then, they both giggle with delight.
This is not decorum normally accepted in the serious world of chess playing, but for these girls, and the dozens of other students sitting along with them, showing emotion is just fine…for now.
It’s called “Chess for Life”. Children aged 7-13 are being taught the basics of chess. The program is part of the Dallas Independent School District’s Extended Year Summer session.
“To win, you have to capture the king”, says 13-year-old Chris McGarry. McGarry received his first chess lesson three years ago. He is one of 400 students getting lessons in the summer sessions.
“Students that participate in chess programs, who learn to play chess, are students who make better grades in school,” according to James Kemp, founder of CDL.
The rest of the story can be read here.
