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from the issue of March 10, 2005
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Local students benefit from summer chess camps
BY LESLIE GARVEY, COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS
Patient. Calm. Focused. Extremely competitive. Those characteristics are the hallmark of a successful chess player. Ken Kiewra, professor of educational psychology and president of the Lincoln Chess Foundation, said these traits are applied in chess games that can last up to six hours. Kiewra, who also teaches chess at local elementary schools, says these characteristics are prominent in many young and devoted chess players.
For the past two summers, Kiewra and the Lincoln Chess Foundation have hosted a summer chess camp for 75 children of any skill level, in grades one through 12. The camps include strategy and instructional classes, as well as recreational and tournament events. The camps provide instruction for young chess players who seek the knowledge and insight from chess experts.
Instructors for the camps have included former Russian national coach and grandmaster, Miron Sher; Alexey Root, former U.S. Women's Chess Champion and Lincoln native; David MacEnulty, a New York chess teacher who is also the author of chess books, videos, and computer software; Tom O'Connor, a coordinator in the College of Business Administration and "Mr. Chess" in Nebraska; and Keaton Kiewra, Ken Kiewra's 17-year-old son, who is a chess master and five time national champion.
The camp instructors offer their expertise to coach the campers and to help develop the proper skills to be successful. It's beneficial for the young campers to have excellent coaches and competition, Ken Kiewra said.
"It's important to rub shoulders with these people who are so good," he said. "No child will be an expert on their own."
Experts and coaching offer tremendous help for the young chess player, Kiewra said, because it helps young players develop and hone their skills. Keaton Kiewra started playing chess at age seven; he praises the coaching he has received over the years.
"I wouldn't be close to where I am now without the coaching. I have always had great coaching," Keaton said. He is a "national master," one of the highest levels in the game.
As an educational psychologist and a parent of a successful chess player, the elder Kiewra has researched the question, "How do young chess masters get to be so good so fast?" He talked to parents of the chess player to find out the keys to children's success.
He found that the successful children are highly committed to chess, playing as much as 20 hours a week. They work with top-level coaches, who only work with the most serious and committed players; and they have parents who are committed to their child's chess success. Parents for example, take on the role of the manager as they arrange and monitor lessons, make travel arrangements, and travel nationally and internationally for tournaments.
"Parents need to slip meals into the child's room because the kid is busy playing chess," Kiewra said. The young chess players aspire to become more skilled players, and also because they enjoy the game, Kiewra said.
"The kids have tremendous passion. They do it because they love it," Kiewra said.
His son concurs: "I love playing chess, and I love competing," Keaton said.
Ken Kiewra said the confidence children build through success at chess carries over to other endeavors.
"It is interesting as an educational psychologist to watch (the young chess players), you can get an insightful view of the talent and expertise," Kiewra said. "Research shows chess helps kids with math, reading skills, and social interaction, which is probably the reason principals want chess in schools."
Keaton said he's developed many friends through the game and has also developed academically.
"From playing chess you get a work ethic, and you are more disciplined with homework," Keaton said.
Kiewra said the summer 2005 chess camp will be June 27-July 1. For more information about the camp, contact him at kkiewra1@unl.edu.
(Editors' Note: This story was written last semester by Leslie Garvey, a senior Communication Studies major from Bellevue for a class taught by Phyllis Larsen in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications.)
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