Playing ACES CHESS (K-12 Chess Education Programs)

Playing ACES CHESS (Active Chess Education for all Students via Communities Helping Educate Successful Scholars) is an effort to introduce a sustainable school and community-based K-12 chess education program that would provide 1000-2000 students (5-10% of the current 20,000+ student base population) the chance to learn and play chess weekly.  Playing ACES CHESS started with 12 K-5 students in 2008 and has expanded each year to now include between 300-500 students in 2014/2015 SY.  

With the help of student volunteers from the UVA Chess Club/Chess Team and other community chess coach/mentor volunteers K-12 chess continues to grow, especially the K-12 Unified Team.  This Unfied Team consists of some of best emerging K-12 chess minds from area public, private, home and alternative school venues.  But, many of the parents of these talented K-12 students cannot afford to continually travel to the number of events their student needs in order to gain the required experience to achieve and sustain a Class B or better rating within < 24 months to remain competitive againist those able to afford these efforts.   

Our goal is to purchase enough chess sets and chess clocks to support 500 additional k-12 players in the next 6 - 9 months.  These sets will be dedicated to supporting a wide area K-12 Chess League designed to serve the community via a weekly chess program in concert with partners like the City of Promise project.  Sets and clocks will also support growing efforts at the local Boys & Girls Club.  Also, a recent meeting with the Founder of the Richmond Chess Initiative will allow K-12 students (mainly Middle School students right now) to have challenge events between our two locations with kids from Richmond, Va. traveling to Charlottesville and vice versa.  This is expected to begin later in Spring 2015.  

We are begining to create a K-12 chess culture in the area by raising social awareness of the impact of chess.  In other words we are, as our slogan states - Helping young minds discover possibiliies via chess!


Finally, Charlottesville City / Albemarle County will again play host, as it does every 5 years, to the Virginia Scholastic Chess Association K-12 Scholastic / Collegiate Championships (13-15 March 2015) at Monticello HS.   Look out for other fundraising events by Playing ACES CHESS designed to grow specific aspects of our efforts.