Afterschool clubs are quite popular at Bright Horizons - we have Drama, Chill Zone, Cricket, Art, Tennis... and we have that complicated, challenging, deliciously difficult game of chess!
Not many people dare learn to play chess well (although many claim they play it well) and not many people can teach others to play chess well. This is exactly why we decided to ask our chess expert, Mr. Repustić, about the school chess club which he runs. Imagine his challenge - teaching teenagers how to play chess! Chess requires silence, patience, strategy, time, practice and thinking ahead... Teenagers don't do silence! We don't do patience! And yet... miracles happen:)
Not only do we have an afterschool chess club, we have brilliant players who even competed in a championship for the first time... Here is what Mr. Repustić told us about it.
1. What was the chess competition for children like?
I think it was a new experience for them to play against other pupils from other schools in order to get them out of their comfort zone.
2. How did our pupils do at the competition?
In consideration that we only have one chess practice per week, and other schools have practice daily, we scored pretty good. We were positioned in the middle of the competition ranks and the pupils were pleased with the results.
3. What does it take to be a chess champion?
Just practice, and a lot of lost games.
4. You also run the Afterschool chess program. How many pupils have joined this year?
We count around 20 pupils. It is hard to keep exact numbers as some pupils come and go.
5. When did you learn how to play chess? What’s so cool about it?
I learned it with my grandpa. The thing that is cool about chess is learning tactics, mental exercise and the fact that it is one of the first board games in the world.
If you dare to learn more about chess, join our club and see which one of our team members becomes a champion some day. Who's afraid of a chess board anyway;)?