Academic Chess
 | |
| Formation | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Type | Elementary in-school and afterschool educational program |
| Headquarters | Laguna Hills, California |
Region served | California, Nevada, Utah |
CEO | Eric Hicks |
| Website | academicchess.com |
Academic Chess is a non-profit program founded in 1994 that teaches elementary-aged students how to play chess. It produced many United States Chess Federation-ranked players, including Nicholas Nip, a 9- year- old who in 2008 became the youngest chess master in history at age 9.[1] Other top chess players that are graduates of Academic Chess' instruction include former national scholastic champions Kyle Shin and Alex Costello, among others.[2][3][4] Academic Chess has taught more than 100,000 children in California, Nevada and Utah.
History
Academic Chess was founded by Eric Hicks, a native of Hawthorne, California and a high school dropout who discovered a talent for chess while playing the game on Santa Monica Beach. He was ranked among the top 100 players for his age group. He attended El Camino College, and later into the University of California, Berkeley. He holds a degree in English and was awarded with the Eisner Prize Award for fiction.[5][6]
During his time at the college, he taught chess to young children, he was an instructor at The Berkeley School of Chess and gave particular attention inner-city youths who were most at-risk. After graduating from Berkeley, Hicks took a job writing software manuals but in his spare time he went back to teaching chess at the Las Palmas Elementary School in San Clemente. Other schools expressed interest in Hicks’ chess program and the Las Palmas Elementary School’s teachers and administration recommended his instructional methods. Hicks taught other schools in the district.[6][7]
Hicks founded Academic Chess in 1994. It has taught over 500,000 students and is one of the first independent afterschool programs in California. It is in 200 California, Nevada and Utah schools during school hours and afterschool. The program operates a summer program, as well as "Friday Knight Tournaments".[8][9]
Academic Chess teaches children in elementary school the basics of chess by giving the pieces backstories to explain their movements, with rhyming and music devices.[10]
One of the most famous members of Academic Chess was Nicholas Nip. In 2008, Nip broke the standing record at the time for the youngest US Chess Federation Master at 9 years and 11 months and was coached by Hicks and his wife, Lina Vark and was enrolled in Academic Chess programs from the time he was in kindergarten. Hicks saw Nip’s potential when he was kindergarten and he defeated nine established masters before attaining the rank, progressing from Expert to Master in less than a year.[1][11]
Other students Academic Chess helped to develop into USCF Masters include Kyle Shin and Alex Costello, among others.[12][13]
Despite the success of developing nationally-ranked talent, Hicks said he is primarily interested in bringing chess to schools of all kinds, public and private, and to students of all ability levels, capabilities and needs.[7] He is also a member of California Chess History's California Chess Hall of Fame.[14]
References
- 1 2 Shahade, Jennifer (6 March 2008). "9-year-old Nip is Youngest Master Ever". The United States Chess Federation. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ↑ "Top Age 9 regardless of Country, Residence, or Federation". The United States Chess Federation. August 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ↑ "13211605: KYLE SHIN". The United States Chess Federation. August 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ↑ "14702870: ALEXANDER JOHN COSTELLO". The United States Chess Federation. August 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ↑ Bean, Jeff (18 October 1994). "Children's Chess Transcends Language, Background". Los Angeles Times.
- 1 2 Keefe, Catherine (4 December 1995). "Knight School". Orange County Register.
- 1 2 O’Hara, Timothy (27 April 1997). "Chessmen cometh to Cardiff". North County Times.
- ↑ Paulson, Wendy (16 December 1994). "Checkmate: Kings of Chess". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ Sharon, Keith (24 November 2000). "Chess in schools proves to be a winning move". Orange County Register.
- ↑ Kraft, Saria (16 September 1994). "Kasparov and the Cake". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ Aigner, Michael (5 March 2008). "NM Nicholas Nip, First 9 Year Old USCF Master!". fpawn chess blog. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ↑ Kirshner, Alan (April 2007). "The 32nd Annual CalChess Scholastics, April 27-29, 2007". Cal North Youth Chess. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ↑ Himmel, Larry (25 February 2014). "World-ranked local chess champ". Cal North Youth Chess. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ↑ Lawless, Kerry. "California Chess Hall of Fame". California Chess History. Retrieved 7 May 2015.