Chess Studio in the Village ("Chess Studio on the Hill")

2009-2010 will mark the seventh consecutive season of the Chess Studio in the Village program! Chess Studio in the Village is a unique program which provides an exciting and entertaining educational and social environment in chess to individuals of all ages, abilities, and skill levels. After three successful seasons of the Studio in the Village, Chess Corps is excited to offer an enriched and expanded curriculum in the seventh season to new

Photo by Laura H. Chan

Chess Studio in the Village, where parents and siblings can learn and play together, offers a wonderful opportunity to introduce the entire family to the culture of chess!

Chess has long been considered an engaging and challenging recreational sport for individuals of all ages, but only until relatively recently has it been recognized as an activity that can result in tremendous educational, social, rehabilitative, and personal development benefits. Inspired by the numerous benefits of chess, Chess Corps created Chess Studio in the Village to meld a group of new and seasoned chess players of all ages, backgrounds, and interests into a community of chess scholars who will challenge, teach, and support one another on a weekly basis.

Hearkening back to the golden period of the European Chess Salon, the Studio in the Village is a creative learning and social environment offering:

• Experienced expert training
• Chess classes and demonstrations
• Team teaching
• Both competitive and casual play
• An eclectic chess library
• Mobile chess computer kiosk
• Chess software and equipment
• Other multimedia learning tools
• Guest presentations
• Community projects and special events

The Studio in the Village meets every Sunday in Brookline Village and runs from October to May. Students can register for either a full year of Studio in the Village or for individual trimesters. Students interested in applying for scholarship opportunities in the Chess Studio should contact our coordinator at info@chesscorps.org


2009-2010 tuition information, schedule of events, enrollment information, and syllabus will be available in October 2009. To get a better idea of the structure of the Studio program and the types of activities offered, please click on the links below to view this information from the previous year's program.

During the last 30 minutes of each Studio session, Chess Corps faculty and volunteers will offer "Chess Basics" during which they will teach the rules of chess at the beginner level to any interested family members, friends or visitors. This service is free and you do not need to be a Chess Corps member to participate.

Photo by Laura H. Chan

Chess Corps at the Carroll Center for the Blind

In an effort to ensure that chess education opportunities are made available to the blind and visually impaired population with an interest in chess, Chess Corps is offering "Introduction to Chess" to children and adults at the Carroll Center for the Blind, a private, non–profit agency located in Newton, Massachusetts which serves persons of all ages who are blind or visually impaired. Founded in 1936, the Carroll Center has pioneered innovative methods for blind persons to gain independence in their home, classroom, and work settings. Through the use of new and evolving technologies, time-tested adaptive methods, individual attention, and personalized care and therapies the Carroll Center has provided the blind community with many opportunities for success and independent living.

For years, chess has been taught to those who are visually impaired by training these individuals to learn to play chess through touch and through the use of a modified chess board which enables players to recognize the difference between black and white squares. As further evidence of the long history of teaching chess to the blind, FIDE has implemented several provisions in the FIDE rules for visually impaired chess players.

The Chess Corps program at the Carroll Center for the Blind aims to enable those who are visually impaired to learn about and enjoy the culture and game of chess through the use of an innovative instructional approach which capitalizes on the visually impaired population's ability to use of tactile sensation to understand and navigate the world around them. In this program, students are trained by Chess Corps faculty in small instructional groups consisting of no more than six students to ensure optimal learning and a high degree of individual attention. The program aims to improve chess playing techniques and to strengthen cognitive abilities and problem solving, critical-thinking, and decision-making skills. Another goal of the program is to build confidence by providing these students with opportunities to gain experience in mastering a complex, dynamic environment.

Chess Corps has been preparing for some time to establish an innovative technique for teaching chess to the visually impaired by building a modified chess board which encourages visually-impaired students to use tactile sensation to discern different areas of the chess board. Through this program, Chess Corps has piloted the use of this specialized board and has found that this innovative approach has significantly expedited the learning process for small group of visually impaired players. In addition, the new board has been met with great enthusiasm from the visually impaired students and teachers alike as an effective and comfortable approach to learning chess.

This program is particularly reflective of Chess Corps' mission to use the power of chess to promote understanding and respect for individual differences.

Various projects are in progress at Chess Corps to provide more opportunities for differently-abled chess players to have access to chess equipment and environments that are conducive to optimal learning, enjoyment, and comfort. In addition to designing innovative modifications within the chess environment, over time Chess Corps hopes to host international chess tournaments for blind and/or visually impaired players of all ages from around the world.

If you are interested in learning more about teaching chess to the blind, please contact Chess Corps Headquarters at info@chesscorps.org or (617) 879-9997.

MetroWest YMCA *

Located in Framingham, MA, the MetroWest YMCA provides affordable and high quality programming for its members living and working in towns throughout MetroWest Massachusetts. The MetroWest YMCA received a Massachusetts Department of Education grant to support a rotating set of out-of-school time enrichment programs in five elementary schools in Framingham, MA, namely Barbieri, Dunning, Hemenway, McCarthy and Potter Road Elementary Schools.

As part of this out-of-school time enrichment program, the MetroWest YMCA in partnership with Chess Corps offered approximately 330 elementary school students, including those of low-income, students with disabilities, and English Language Learners, the opportunity to learn more about chess and to improve their skill level by practicing under the guidance of expert instructors from Chess Corps, including International Master Satea Husari. Chess Corps was delighted to co-sponsor this chess enrichment program with the MetroWest YMCA. The chess curriculum was aimed at helping students to expand their critical thinking and problem solving skills, enhance their academic performance, improve their creativity, and develop social skills as well as an overarching respect for individual differences.

The program met once per week and ran from mid-January through the end of May 2007.

Please click on the links below to read more about the YMCA's out-of-school time enrichment program in which Chess Corps is participating:

The Newton Free Library and the Medford Library

The Newton Free Library and the Medford Library, in partnership with Chess Corps, created monthly Chess Clubs for chess enthusiasts in the Newton and Medford communities and neighboring areas. The Chess Club affords library patrons of all ages the opportunity to drop in and practice chess with Chess Corps teachers.

The Chess Clubs meet once per month. Participation in the Chess Clubs is free and open to the public. While it may be helpful to review the rules of chess before attending, these educational programs are open to chess scholars of any skill and experience level.

The  Newton Free Library is located at 330 Homer Street   Newton Centre, MA 02459. The Library is handicapped accessible. Individuals who require special assistance when attending programs should call (617) 796-1410 during business hours and (617) 796-1360 evenings and weekends. To learn more about the Newton Free Library and to view their Calendar of Events, please visit their web site at: http://newtonfreelibrary.net/  

Headquarters in the Village

Located at 1 Harvard Street in Brookline Village, Chess Corps is currently building its first headquarters and is looking forward to establishing its first learning laboratory for enhancing human potential using both traditional and state-of- the-art biofeedback learning technologies. Chess research, intensive training, and Chess Corps media production facilities are located on site.

Watertown Boys and Girls Club *

Surrounded by pine forests and meadows, in Watertown’s upscale quarter, the Boys and Girls Club is a full-service facility providing indoor and outdoor athletic venues, including basketball, baseball, and soccer as well as computer, art, and game room facilities. Consonant with the Boys and Girls Club’s mission of developing future responsible citizens, Chess Corps’ goal is to engage young people to achieve higher potential in educational, social and personal domains of their lives through chess education and participation.