Chess Tourney teaches Boys and Girls Clubs members how to claim victory in life

To the casual observer, the 40 children playing chess will seem like a tense competition of wits. In truth, each child will be plotting their master game plan for success in life.

On Thursday, Dec. 2, the James Madison High School Boys & Girls Club will host members from five Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee locations at the Chess Club End of Season Playoffs from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The school is located at 8135 W. Florist Ave.

In its 2nd year, the tournament is hosting members from five Boys & Girls Clubs located within Milwaukee Public Schools: Franklin Pierce School, Brown Street Academy, Allen-Field Elementary School, 35th Street School and Madison.

As part of the Boys & Girls Clubs’ Character & Leadership Development programming, the Chess Club began in 2009 at Franklin Pierce School, and has expanded to nine additional locations.

The Chess Club focuses on teaching better decision-making skills, analytical thinking, self-control and good sportsmanship. It also emphasizes the importance of education, self-value, and nutrition, and teaches them to apply the strategies they learn from chess to life as well.

For Boys & Girls Club members involved with The Chess Club, they take to heart the life lessons of knowing who they are in the chess boards of life: home, school and community. According to The Chess Club volunteers and Boys & Girls Clubs staff, they’ve noted how participants are improving how they behave and how they perform in the classroom.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee is the oldest and largest youth-serving agency in Milwaukee. It offers after-school and summer programming for children ages 5-18, focusing on those who have major life obstacles, most often poverty. The Clubs operate 40 sites, which include six primary locations, 32 school sites, Camp Whitcomb/Mason in Hartland and an extension site at the Ethan Allen School for Boys in Wales. Membership to the Clubs is only $5 per year, per child, but no one is ever turned away based on inability to pay. For more information, visit the Clubs’ Web site at www.boysgirlsclubs.org.