It鈥檚 been almost a month since 13 high school students and their coaches from Renaissance High School, a public magnet school in Detroit, Mich., piled on a bus for the nine-hour ride to Washington, D.C.鈥攖he first visit to the nation鈥檚 capital for most鈥攖o compete in a three-day national high school chess championship.
They鈥檙e still riding high.
The small but dedicated group of students more than 400 students and 67 teams to win the U.S. Chess Federation National High School Championship in their category. The winning players were selected from among the school鈥檚 20-some-member chess team to attend the national tournament. It was a first for the school of approximately 1,175 students, of which 99 percent are Black, 1 percent is Hispanic, and 54 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch, according to state and federal data on the school.
The win brought both national and peer recognition to the small chess team, whose members were accustomed to playing in relative obscurity before becoming national champions.
鈥淪ince we won the national championships, everybody at school wants to play,鈥� said Corey Boyce, a sophomore at Renaissance who helped lead his team to victory at the championship.
The game鈥檚 surge in popularity
The spike in students鈥� interest in chess at Renaissance comes as the ancient game is surging in popularity among all ages, including children and teens. Online play is up 238 percent since 2020 at . This January, the website recorded an all-time number of active users (over 10 million), causing it to .
The pandemic-related shutdowns of schools, workplaces, and gathering places created the perfect opportunity for a surge in online chess play. But attendance at this spring鈥檚 national high school champions was also record-setting, signaling how much the game has resonated with young people. The tournament, which normally hosts between 1,300 and 1,400 players, welcomed more than 1,750 this year, according to the , which ran out of medals for participants.
The uptick in chess play has not been lost on teachers. One from a high school teacher discussing her 鈥渃hess-obsessed鈥� male students garnered hundreds of comments. And while some teachers being frustrated by the distraction it鈥檚 presenting鈥攖hink students surreptitiously huddled over cellphones or laptops as they play online during class鈥攐thers tout the game鈥檚 positive impact on academic and life skills.
How chess benefits students
Robert Taliaferro, an inductee of the Detroit City Chess Club鈥檚 Harold Steen Hall of Fame, has coached the Renaissance chess team for the past seven years. He said the game has been a win-win for his players. 鈥淔irst of all, it keeps them safe and off the streets,鈥� Taliaferro said. 鈥淣ot only are they safe, but they鈥檙e learning things that could help them in life.鈥�
Taliaferro disagrees with the stereotype of chess being a game for 鈥渟mart鈥� kids.
鈥淪ome people say, 鈥榃ell, they鈥檙e smart kids and that鈥檚 why they play chess.鈥� I believe chess broadens their intellect,鈥� he said. 鈥淗ow much you put into it is how much you get out of it.鈥�
Opemipo Clement would probably agree. The senior at Renaissance and co-captain of the chess team, who learned to play at the age of 7 in his native Nigeria, is heading to Brown University next year. He talks about the commitment he brings to the chess board.
鈥淲e鈥檙e always playing, always getting better,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to build our repertoire of skills.鈥�
The senior admits that his intense practicing partly stems from a competitive mindset. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to bring our best foot forward to the tournament,鈥� Opemipo said.
Corey, his teammate, describes the intensity of tournaments. 鈥淵ou have to think for hours, try to think your way out [of a given situation on the board],鈥� he said.
Studying the impact
While some educators see chess playing as a potential distraction in the classroom, others have brought it to the school intentionally. Several countries鈥攊ncluding the United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Venezuela, Armenia, and Hungary鈥攈ave introduced chess into the school curriculum, according to , a professor of curriculum and instruction at Tennessee Tech University, who has studied the benefits of chess for schoolchildren.
His involved 62 teachers of grades 2 through 8, who participated in a five-year program. Teachers attended a four-day professional development workshop prior to the start of the school year that taught them how to play chess and how to use the game in the classroom to teach skills such as critical thinking. They also were required to include chess or chess-based lessons at least one hour during the school day, and to establish after-school chess clubs.
In a survey, high percentages of participating teachers said they noticed that students who played chess in class improved in:
- problem solving (78 percent)
- strategic thinking (75 percent)
- critical thinking (73 percent)
- decision making (64 percent), and
- interest in school (62 percent).
The most persuasive evidence of the game鈥檚 benefits may come from student players themselves.
鈥淚 might not be the best, but I enjoy the learning process and the game in general,鈥� said Opemipo, the Renaissance team鈥檚 co-captain. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about studying, playing, just really tasking your brain to find these winning ideas in these difficult positions.鈥�
