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 In this school of just over 100 students,
Hieronymous has over 20 students involved. The high school group
includes a few seniors, juniors and sophomores and many freshmen.
Spanish teacher Hieronymous noted that this new sport has involved
both boys and girls, although this new crop has a female majority.
Hieronymous has been coaching chess clubs since 1984, a 35 year
history of leading groups at Atlanta Junior High School, Olympia
Middle School, Olympia High School and now Hartsburg-Emden. These
past teams did well in competitions, with Atlanta Junior High once
placing fifth in the state and Olympia placing third.
As Hieronymous works with this new group, the students at Hartsburg
Emden are already showing great promise even in their first year:
the Junior High Chess Club is headed to the state competition
February 28th and 29th.
Having recently finished Sectionals, Hieronymous said they missed
the state competition by just one spot. At one recent competition,
they narrowly missed beating Normal West, a much bigger school.
Over the season, the High School Chess Club also competed against
Jacksonville, Olympia and Lincoln. In the Illini Classic Tournament,
Hartem competed against Normal West, Lincoln, Metamora and Morton.
To get to the tournament, the Chess Club had to play in at least six
matches.
In a tournament, Hieronymous explained, there is an elaborate system
of scoring: 68 points are possible, with 34.5 required to win. And,
after the first round the losing teams play each other.
The success of the Hartem Chess Clubs is viewed as remarkable
because many of the players were new to the game. Hieronymous said
the new students quickly became proficient at chess. Some had been
in a game clubs in past years, but Hieronymous said it was a big
step up to play at competitions.
When they played against much bigger schools, the Hartsburg Emden
students held their own. For instance, they had a close match
against Normal West, scoring 23 points.
How chess complements academic success
Playing chess has been shown to increase students’ academic
achievement. Hieronymous reports that of the high school chess
players, many also participated on the Varsity Scholar Bowl Team and
four junior high players were on the Junior Varsity Scholar Bowl
Team. On the U.S. Chess Trust website it
says, “[m]ore and more scientific studies have confirmed that
children who are taught chess, in addition to their regular courses,
do better in school. Studies report that chess helps develop
valuable reading and decision-making skills and improves students'
ability to concentrate.”
Hieronymous said playing a 55 minute game helps students develop
better concentration, and students often concentrate better in a
two-hour game than they do during their classes. The quiet
atmosphere at matches helps with needed concentration.
Another skill chess players develop is visual
memory, which Hieronymous said is important because it helps players
recognize patterns. A player may say, “I have seen this before and I
know where it goes.” Analysis of patterns helps players plan out the
strategy in games, which helps them make decisions about their next
moves.
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Hieronymous said chess players develop
problem-solving skills as they keep planning and modifying their
plan during the game each time they must react and choose a
different move.
Senior Evan Rohlfs said chess brought something to the table that is
a mental sport like scholastic bowl, which he also played. As Rohlfs
said, it filled a niche for students who wanted to do something new.
Rohlfs said chess requires quite a bit of memorization and following
rule sets. Players must strategize and make long term plans, which
can help students not only in playing chess but also in the
classroom setting.
Rohlfs observed that people who do well academically often do well
at chess. He stated that his own concentration has improved because
he has to focus on every move the other player makes to plan his
next move. Rohlfs said this skill helps him learn to stay on task in
both the game and his academic work.
As the program continues, Rohlfs suggested it should have some good
outcomes. Since students can join in junior high and play all
throughout high school, some might even become expert players.
Both non-athletes and athletes alike are part of the Hartem chess
club. Rohlfs said the chess club was a good way to bring a variety
of people together.
Although the chess team included two seniors, the majority were
freshmen and sophomores. Hieronymus said, “we were very young this
year overall. We also have some good players at the Jr. High level.
This should produce good teams for the next few years, and
hopefully, next year's sixth grade class will continue this trend.”
Concentration, analysis, strategizing, planning and memorization:
the future looks bright for the Hartsburg Emden Chess Team.
[Angela Reiners]
|
Read all the articles in our
new
2020 Education Magazine
Title
CLICK ON TITLES TO GO TO PAGES |
Page |
|
Introduction |
4 |
|
Teaching students to cope with stress |
5 |
|
First of its kind Illinois school meal program
at Lincoln Elementary School District # 27
achieves high marks in the opening semester |
8 |
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West Lincoln-Broadwell students actualize
studies in comet data mission |
14 |
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Students gain mental acuity at Hart-Em Chess
Club |
19 |
|
Exciting things ahead for the future of Mount
Pulaski CUSD # 23 |
23 |
|
School Report: Mount Pulaski Community
Unit District #23 |
30 |
|
Logan County School Information |
31 |
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