Back to 1st pageReprinted from the July 1998 Counseling Today
By Peter Guerra
"Chess is not merely an idle amusement ... life is a kind of chess."
- Benjamin Franklin, from Chess Tactics by John A. Bain.
A frustrated student sits next to Fernando Moreno, staring at a chess board with her head in her hands. Moreno is teaching her how to move a white pawn in a chess game to defeat a black advancement. The girl suddenly lights up as the answer comes to mind. "If I move the white pawn forward, then I can get my queen back, and trap the black king," she answers tentatively.
"Very good," says Moreno. "The lesson is that if you are confronted, don't immediately fight back. Instead, weigh your options and see if you can outmaneuver the enemy."
Chess is a game that requires tremendous skill and mental fortitude, and the ability to adapt quickly to changing situations. It is these skills that help youth deal with life situations, said Fernando Moreno, a school counselor in Montgomery County, Md. Moreno developed the Chess for Success program, a counseling program that uses chess to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) students skills in conflict resolution, education, self-esteem, and language.
Moreno first started using chess in counseling when he heard of students in New York City schools who used the game to help with academic problems. Moreno then took the concepts learned in chess and applied them to specific counseling situations.
"That is when I started using the game as a metaphor for life situations," said Moreno. "[Chess] has been very helpful for me in teaching young kids these more complex life situations, and also, the high school kids start to see long-term and short-term goals."
The elements of chess and the complexity and sophistication of a single game provides concrete examples of lessons to be learned in life, said Moreno. The Chess for Success program is used to teach ESL students critical thinking and conflict resolution skills while gaining self-esteem. Moreno said that chess makes these abstract skills concrete.
In addition, Moreno said that the skills used in chess are the same skills used in education. He said that in chess, a student knows how the pieces basically move, yet every game is different and they have to constantly adapt to the changing positions.
"In education it is more or less the same," said Moreno. "It is the concept that education is a long-term goal, you go at it step by step."
Moreno also said that chess teaches youths about multiculturalism. He explains to students that chess is played around the world between people who share only the common language of chess. Moreno said that this concept is especially important for ESL students, who have to contend with cultural barriers as well as language barriers in everyday life.
"Chess is ideal for teaching all of us that although we come from various backgrounds and speak different languages, our minds can work in similar ways when trying to reach a goal," Moreno said. "[T]his fact helps students from diverse backgrounds understand our similarities as human beings."
Chess for Success
Moreno uses the Chess for Success program on an individual and group basis. On an individual basis, Moreno lets a student talk for approximately 10 minutes about their situation or problem. During the session, Moreno pulls out his worn chess board and asks the student if they want to learn a game. He teaches the child how to move one or two pieces, then informs the student about the after-school chess club.
On a group basis, Moreno schedules times to visit classrooms and teaches students a few simple rules of chess to get them interested. Then, he invites them to the after school chess club where activities range from specific chess puzzles, one-on-one play, group-versus-group play, and individual instruction. Moreno assigns the games according to which child he believes will benefit from a certain chess game.
Moreno has established ESL chess programs in several elementary, junior, and senior high schools in Maryland. For example, Twinbrook Elementary School in Rockville has a giant chess board painted on the playground blacktop. The students play chess in teams during recess using giant chess pieces.
"[Counselors] need a tool that will help us to gain rapport easily with students, that will be available to use in individual and group/class situations, that will help students realize their capacity to learn, and how emotions and feelings play an important role in their development as a human being," he said. "This tool must also help them to make better decisions and evaluate their consequences."
Moreno conducted a series of surveys to test that the success of the chess program was quantifiable and qualifiable. He sent out surveys to teachers and students who had participated in the program to gain feedback.
Some of the answers included: "I feel that it has helped me a lot. Before I didn't like it, but now I want to move ahead, and I want to learn more." Moreno said that the majority of positive responses indicated that the program worked.
Specific puzzles for life situations
Moreno uses specific exercises to teach students such skills as conflict resolution (See Puzzle #1). In this puzzle, the black pawn moves from G7 to G6 to threaten the white pawn in space H5. If the white pawn moves from H5 to G6 and captures the black pawn, the black pawn in F7 will then capture the white pawn in G6. The better move is to avoid the black pawn in G6 and move away from it to space H6. The white pawn is then free to eventually move to H8, where a the player may then choose a piece that has been previously captured by the other side.
The lessons that Moreno instills in the students with this puzzle is that in a fight, it may be better to step away to win at a later date. Moreno will then ask a student who participated in a fight during the week if they could have avoided the confrontation. He said that he can then refer back to this puzzle if necessary. The puzzle represents a concrete example of a better social choice for that student, he said.
"In chess, you can know more or less how the pieces move, but you are always able to learn, there is never an end," said Moreno.
Moreno went on to explain that he also used chess to teach kids about control. He said that the fact that the youths have control over their own pieces and that moving those pieces in relation to opposing pieces helps to provide a feeling of empowerment.
"The other pieces become your environment, and your own pieces become you and your skill," said Moreno. "I use that with some kids, especially those whose parents are alcoholics, because it lets them know that there are some things they can control, and in situations where they aren't in control they have to rely on themselves and their skills to survive."
Award for program and additional programs
In a September 1996 ceremony, Moreno was honored for his chess counseling program by the United States Chess Federation's (USCF) Chess in Education Committee. The committee was created by the USCF to promote and provide support for the instruction of chess in the classroom. It provides workshops, recognizes existing school-based chess programs, and lobbies for making chess part of the educational system. The committee presented the award to Moreno at a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
A counselor does not have to be a champion player to use chess in counseling, said Moreno.
"I am not a very good chess player," he said. "My purpose is more the process of the learning of the game. Kids I have taught have beaten me. I don't mind. It gives their self-esteem a boost."
- Peter Guerra is a staff writer for Counseling Today.
For more information on the US Chess in Education Committee, call the U.S. Chess Federation at 800.388.5464, or via the Internet at www.uschess.org. For more information on the Chess for Success program, contact Fernando Moreno by phone at 301.230.0670 or by e-mail at fernando_moreno@ fc.mcps.k12.md.us.
This article has been reproduced from Counseling Today Online. All materials contained in this publication are the property of the American Counseling Association. ACA grants reproduction rights to libraries, researchers, and teachers who wish to copy all or part of the contents of this article for scholarly purposes provided that no fee for the use or possession of such copies is charged to the ultimate consumer of the copies.
Copyright ©1998, American Counseling Association
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