Mechanics' Institute Chess Club
Scholastic Chess Programming
Camps - Afterschool Program - Tournaments - Teaching Philosophy - Chess Coaches - Testimonials
1. Scholastic Chess Camps
|
Date |
Time/Type |
Link to Register |
|---|---|---|
| January 2-3 |
9:30am - 3:30pm (Half Days Available!) Grades K-5
|
Register HERE |
| March 28 - April 4 | Spring Break Camp | TBA |
Location:
In person camp at the Mechanics' Institute: these camps will be held live, in-person in the historic Mechanics' building at 57 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94104.
Description:
Our camps are an opportunity for beginner chess players to join and start a lifelong appreciation of the royal game of chess and play with other kids. Intermediate students will learn tactics, how to defend common opening traps, and review famous games.
Sample Schedule for In-Person Camp
9:30-9:45AM warmup games, wait for everyone to show up.
9:45-10:30AM: first lecture
10:30-10:45AM: break (bathroom, snacktime)
10:45-11:30AM: paired play #1
11:30-11:45AM: break (bathroom, snacktime)
11:45-12:05PM: second lecture
12:05-12:20PM: tournaments/games/puzzle competition
----- Half day campers leave/arrive
Lunch time for full day campers: 12:20-12:45PM
12:30-12:45PM warmup games, wait for everyone to show up.
12:45-1:30PM: first lecture
1:30-1:45PM: break (bathroom, snacktime)
1:45-2:30PM: paired play #1
2:30-2:45PM: break (bathroom, snacktime)
2:45-3:05PM: second lecture
3:05-3:30PM: tournaments/games/puzzle competition, cleanup.
** All camps need a minimum of 5 campers to hold the camp. Decisions to cancel the camp in case of under-enrollment will be made Friday evening the week before. Please register ahead of time to make sure we can plan accordingly.
*** Refunds may be issued before the start of the camp with a 25$ administrative fee and less any credit card processing fees. Refunds must be requested by Friday at 3pm before the start of the camp. Please email [email protected].
2. After School Enrichment Classes
Mechanics' Institute offers in-person chess classes at selected schools. Enrichment classes are 60 minutes long and have no more than 12 students per coach; all students are from the same school. Our coaches take roll, do an interactive lesson using the demonstration board or bring puzzle worksheets, and then allow students to play against each other over the board. Parents are encouraged to follow up with us if they have any questions about their child's progress.
Do you have a group of kids from the same school or organization? We can work with you to develop a class just for you and for your child's school! For detailed information and to start the discussion how to make it happen, please reach out to our Chess Program Manager, Alex Robins, at [email protected] or give us a call at 415-393-0110.
***Our late pickup policy is that parents will be asked to pay $25 for every 5 minutes they are late, which we will ask you to pay after a 10-minute grace period. Late pickup is not a service that we offer, and we do expect parents to pick up their children on time. Thank you in advance for complying with our policy and picking up your children in a timely manner.
*** Refunds may be issued before the start of the enrichment classes with an administrative fee and less any credit card processing fees. Refunds must be requested by before the start of the class. Please email [email protected].
3. Free Youth Outreach Program
Mechanics' Chess offers free chess education for Title 1 schools in San Francisco. These classes are made possible by generous donors & benefactors. Please reach out to our Chess Program Manager, Alex Robins at [email protected] if you are interested or have any questions.
In-Person and Online Scholastic Tournaments
We regularly offer scholastic tournaments both in-person and online.
- Please find more information about our monthly in-person scholastic tournaments here.
- USCF Online rated tournaments are also available and open to any scholastic players. Special trophies or medals are awarded to the Top 5 overall players and Top 3 in the under800 and under400 category. Players must have USCF membership and register through our registration portal, Jumbula, prior to the event. Welcome email is sent to those who registered for the event. More information here.
All of our online scholastic tournaments are held through Chesskid.com. Chesskid.com is a safe, secure and fun platform for kids to learn and play chess, and participate in a wide variety of activities, including listening to lectures, doing puzzles, playing with their friends, and participating in online tournaments. If you are interested in receiving emails about our online scholastic tournaments, please sign up for our Chess Club Email List here!
Mechanics' Institute Scholastic Chess Bulletin
The Mechanics' Institute Scholastic Chess Bulletin is not currently being published, but please find past issues below!
| Issue |
|---|
| #1. May 29, 2021 |
| #2. June 14, 2021 |
| # 3. July 17, 2021 |
| #4. August 31, 2021 |
| #5. September 29, 2021 |
| #6. October 22, 2021 |
| #7. November 20, 2021 |
| #8. December 23, 2021 |
Our Teaching Philosophy
We at the Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club are proud that our scholastic program brings the joy of chess to a wide variety of schools in San Francisco. Every week, our chess coaches teach at schools, ranging from some of the most elite schools in the city to some of the most marginalized. Our classes provide a safe and fun way for children to learn and explore one of the world’s greatest games. Regardless of their background, we equip children with the skills to engage with other chess players anywhere in the world for the rest of their lives. Our philosophy emphasizes that chess is fun and all of our classes and lessons flow from this.
In our classes you can expect your children to:
- Develop their chess skills, this includes: learning basic concepts such as forks, pins, and skewers, exploring and practicing checkmate patterns, and following and analyzing some of the most famous games from chess history - or the games of students in the class!
- Develop their social and emotional skills such as: good sportsmanship, self-confidence, cooperation, concentration, patience, critical thinking and executive functioning.
In addition to the concrete skills learned in class, chess also has a number of benefits:
- Chess has also been proven to have a correlation with increased: math skills (here), reading comprehension (here), and problem-solving skills (here).
- Starting a lifelong journey through one of the best games ever made!
- Learning an international "language" and pastime. No matter where you go in the world - you can always find someone who plays chess!
- Chess enables children to engage with - and beat - adults in a fair competition. This is a rare opportunity for kids and soon enough they could be beating you!
Our professional and talented staff of coaches are trained to teach students of all levels, from beginner to advanced and keep them engaged in chess throughout the semester.
Chess Coaches
|
Danny Cao Marcie Yang |
Quinn Ni Thu Le Ako Heidari Elliott Winslow |
Lee Cooper Richard Hack Ian Wessen Pablo Cardenas |
Nate Lalau Sophie Adams Maksim Manakov Dennis Hughes |
Testimonials
From our Camps & Classes
"It was great for the kids to learn to think strategically in such a fun environment." Ben H., Summer Camp 2023
"The Mechanics' Institute summer chess camp gave my son a great opportunity to learn and challenge himself in a supportive environment. He got to play against a wide variety of opponents and the Mechanics' staff was amazing." Lyrica M., Summer Camp 2023
"This was an excellent camp. We loved it." Aindrila P., Summer Camp 2023
"The camp staff were amazing! My son has trouble with first days and struggles with transition. We actually missed the first day because he was too nervous to attend. Alyssa and Alex and all of the team did an amazing job of being understanding and easing him into it. He wound up loving the experience. He built a lot of confidence and skill in the game, and in himself. Thank you very sincerely for your great support!" Mark J., Summer Camp 2023
"I've had a hard time finding instructional camps in sf and really appreciate the work you put into actual teaching vs it being a supervised free for all." Jennifer W., Winter Camp 2022
"Our 6-year-old daughter really enjoyed the camp. While she was nervous before starting, at the end of the first day she had a big smile on her face and was excited the rest of the week. We’d definitely sign her up again for future camps." - Michael C., Winter Camp 2022
"Thank you so much for holding this wonderful class for the kids! My son really enjoyed it and learned a lot." -Lena D., 2021 December
"Thank you very much for having the intermediate chess camp this year. I had a great time. It was a valuable experience and am only sorry that I could not attend the full week." -David R.
"My son had a great time last week at the intermediate class! We wanted to write an email to express our thanks. He really likes the current class format, which is more about teaching/ learning and less on chess-playing during class time among classmates. He loves the topics teachers chose and the examples they went over. Even though we live further away we feel that the commute was well worth it. " -Mark H.
"My husband and I have been very impressed with your Coaches and how the class is being run. My son is actually anxious to share the new chess moves with me! We are very happy with your program." -Sharon K.
Online programming
"My kids have been playing chess for about two years, and it’s been great for them to have an activity they can continue doing during the pandemic. Thank you for offering so many online chess classes and tournaments for kids." Jill C.
"Thank you so much for your partnership this year. I'm so glad we were able to work together, despite the strangeness of this year. I so appreciate you creating a smooth and engaging online experience for our girls. I know they really enjoyed it!" Laura B.
From our Free Youth Outreach programs
"The students really enjoy chess and learning with Richard, we have had a great working relationship with him and look forward to continuing his fun classes here at AVS. We even have students who seek out Richard as soon as he shows up on campus to help him set up and chat, it's quite adorable!" -Ms. McNutt, BookEnds Director and Art & Tinker Teacher, Alta Vista School
" The Mechanics' Institute Chess program has made a huge difference at Marshall Elementary. The students who attend our school are primarily from immigrant, working class families that struggle to survive in one of the most expensive cities in the world. This chess program has provided opportunities for students to develop spatial reasoning, attentiveness and sportsmanship. Mr. Nick (GM Nick de Firmian) has a gift for working with new players of this age." -Mrs. Judy Viertel, Librarian, Marshall Elementary School, SFUSD
"The picture most adults have teens and tweens now days is of a hunched over a kid, staring mindlessly into a smartphone. Maybe swiping at pictures or playing video games. I think most adults would be surprised to come into the school library at Visitacion Valley Middle School. First, to dispel the stereotype, it is not quiet and instead, there is a buzz of activity. There are no computers, instead, students are playing games, reading comics and doing crafts. By far the most popular game is chess. The students, whether they know how to play or not, are drawn to the chess boards especially when there is a chess teacher from the Mechanics Library. They are usually shy at first saying, "I dont know how to play.". When I tell them that is what the teacher is for and that six years ago I did not know how to play either and learned from the students, they hesitantly shuffle over to the chess tables. Quickly they are playing, laughing, asking questions and having fun. Students like the names of the pieces and how each one does something different, they like that there is a strategy, and that a beginner can really beat a more advanced player. I use chess in other ways in the library, thanks to the Mechanics Library. I read once that people who struggle to read can use chess as a strategy. There is research that shows that thinking, looking at the chessboard and moving pieces with the hand can help struggling readers. We have a significant number of students struggling to read and when they get frustrated in their reading classes they often come to the library, play some chess, and then return to class ready to try again, feeling calmer and more assured. At VVMS we are all very appreciative of the chess program at the Mechanics Library and look forward to working with the teachers each year." -Callen Taylor, Teacher Librarian, Visitacion Valley Middle School SFUSD