and one in May.14 The December Nationals are “grade” Nationals, known as The National Scholastic K–12/Collegiate Championship, meaning participants only play opponents from their own scholastic grade level, regardless of rating. In this way there is a national first-grade champion, a national second-grade champion, and so on, up through twelfth grade (regardless of chronological age, so children who are old or young for their grade still compete against grade peers). The May Nationals, called the National Burt Lerner Elementary (K–6) Championship,15 is based on both grade and rating. There are K–1, K–3, and K–5 designations, and within those designations there are separate sections for those whose ratings are under a certain level (for example, 1,000).
This means that there are many different trophies awarded—a huge focus of all chess tournaments. The top ten or twenty finishers in each section receive trophies, and there are special trophies awarded within sections, such as the best performance for players with a rating under 500. Almost everyone leaves a local chess tournament with a trophy or a ribbon or medal, though they vary significantly in size. Trophies for winners at Nationals are often bigger than the players themselves. Some local tournaments also award participation trophies to all the kids, though these are usually only for the youngest children. In certain sections all entrants might receive a medal, but those typically are phased out by middle school.
The local-state-national structure of scholastic chess implies that there is a progression upward and that players need to qualify to play in the Nationals. Not so. There are absolutely no qualifications to play at the national scholastic tournaments. If someone pays the entry fee, a child can play in the event. Sometimes even unrated players compete in Nationals.
Many schools do not have chess teams. In that case a child may represent his or her school, and the school may not even know. In most schools that have chess teams anyone can join. At a tournament the team in scholastic chess is usually the three or four top-scoring children from the same school in each section (though the school may have brought twenty children). Homeschooled children are able to participate based on their current age, and many do, but they are not able to compete for team prizes.
When children attend tournaments as a school team they benefit from companionship and also from having a team room. This is a rented conference room or hotel suite that parents pay for, or which the school covers, where everyone gets together to go over games. Often schools hire team coaches who stay in the team rooms during the tournament to analyze games and give the children pep talks between rounds. Such schools also often have the children wear team T-shirts, which helps build camaraderie.
While some schools go so far as to order food for families to eat in their private rooms, less advantaged schools do not have the funds to rent their own rooms. These teams and their families use spaces provided by tournament organizers, known as “skittles rooms.” Skittling is a chess term for analyzing a game to look for areas of improvement, whether a child won or lost.
Parents and children involved with scholastic chess quickly learn about skittling and become conversant in speaking the language of ratings, reading wall charts, and annotating games. The 1984 book Searching for Bobby Fisher and the 1993 film of the same name still accurately portray the contemporary world of scholastic chess.16 But the book and movie do not explain how the competition actually works. Private lessons, the rating system, and tournament structure and pairings are all integral to understanding how the highly organized world of kids’ competitive chess is structured. Parents must get involved and learn about these practices if their child is to thrive in scholastic chess, as many of the Metro and West County chess parents have done.
Metro Chess and West County Chess
In general, chess attracts a diverse group of participants. This is largely attributable to the low basic costs of equipment and participation. There are also many opportunities to play in free tournaments, especially in areas like Metro. Metro is one of the historic centers of chess in the United States, and it is one of the hotspots for scholastic chess.17 Many public and private schools in Metro offer curriculum chess on top of extracurricular opportunities.18
The scholastic chess scene in Metro is a small and connected, but divided, world. Coaches jealousy guard their turf, both schools and students, particularly in the more affluent pockets of the city. There are many organizations and teachers who try to control the scholastic chess scene. Outside of the affluent schools different coaches and teachers dominate. I worked with two organizations in order to meet children and parents associated with Metro Chess: Uptown-Metro Chess and Charter-Metro Chess.
I met parents in Uptown-Metro Chess through a for-profit organization that offers curriculum chess classes, after-school classes, camps, tournaments, private lessons, and chess supplies. At that time the organization was based in four schools, a mix of public and private. Through camps and tournaments children from other schools are also part of this organization, and these events are held in a church basement and in school cafeterias and gyms.
Uptown-Metro Chess teaches several children who routinely appear on the Top 100 lists and have won national championships, but the majority of the children who play in their tournaments and attend their classes and workshops do not have exceptionally high ratings. Boys far out-number girls here, but several girls are top performers. Families that can pay enroll their children in classes, private lessons, and tournaments. Many of these families go to city and state tournaments, and a substantial number attend at least one national event a year. Both mothers and fathers are involved with their children.
Charter-Metro Chess is quite different. Instead of being for-profit it is part of a nonprofit dedicated to bringing after-school programs to underprivileged children. The chess program is a highlight, as many of the children in the program have been very successful. During the school year classes are offered on Saturday mornings to children in the community; during the summer a half-day chess camp is also available. The camp is especially popular, as it is free. Parents push their children to continue with chess during the school year because they know that if the children do well, they may be selected to travel to attend tournaments—again, for free. Both the summer camp and the classes take place in schools, the former in a public elementary school and the latter in a nearby charter school for middle school and high school students, though the program focuses on elementary school–age children. Free snacks and lunches are part of the chess day.
All Charter-Metro chess children are welcome to attend free tournaments around the Metro area. Top-performing children are also invited (or they qualify at an internal tournament) to attend local tournaments that require an entry fee. The best players are invited to travel to attend the Nationals. This is a much smaller group since travel expenses for the children are covered by the organization. Girls are the top performers in Charter-Metro chess, and the number of girls and boys involved is far more equal than in Uptown-Metro Chess.
Charter-Metro parents do not often attend tournaments with the children; instead the chess teachers take kids to the events. For local tournaments, they meet up on weekend mornings at the school and take the subway together. Often the teacher has to take a child home after the tournament when the parent does not show up. Because Charter-Metro Chess parents are often not present, they are not well represented in my data. But through fieldwork at Charter-Metro events, including attending their summer camp, weekly weekend lessons, and tournaments with their group, I was able to study this part of the scholastic chess world.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив
