On July 17, Federal Way Public Schools hosted its first Summer Chess Camp with the superintendent to further reinforce this commitment.

“Chess is an important game that teaches what life is about,” Superintendent Dr. Tammy Campbell said. “When you make a move, when you make a choice, there are implications for those choices, and we think this type of camp promotes the critical thinking and problem-solving skills we want our scholars to demonstrate all year long.”

More than 75 scholars of all ages and skill levels attended the event at Todd Beamer High School.

Among those in attendance were resident chess experts excited to share strategies and tips to help scholars improve their game. Campbell recruited 2013 Federal Way graduate Benjamin Bostrom to provide chess tips and strategies.

Scholars started the day by learning how to navigate the board and the attributes of each chess piece. Once they were more comfortable with the rules and pieces, they worked together to play against Bostrom on a board in front of the group, sharing their thought processes for chosen moves.

After an hour of individual playtime, the scholars broke into pairs. To encourage collaborative critical thinking and decision making, the scholars were challenged to work with their partner against another pair.

From this exercise, the young chess players were able to learn from each other, while practicing new techniques such as castling and en passant.