Partner Spotlight: Chess at Three’s New Fall Series
Our friends at Chess at Three teach lessons to children that extend far beyond the chessboard. Not only do their students learn about chess, they’re also developing skills that make them a better student overall, including executive function, critical thinking, empathy, planning, and emotional intelligence, to name a few
As we head into a school year like we’ve never seen before, Chess at Three is highlighting a new lesson: overcoming bias. The new series, called “Chess is a Sea” is being released this fall to Chess at Three’s private tutors and school partners, but they’ve taken the time to share the lessons of the program with us:
The Story Behind “Chess is a Sea”
Chess at Three’s new story centers on Chesslandia’s CFO (Chief Friendship Officer), Queen Bella. One day, Queen Bella sees a sea monster leap out of the Endless Sea, and she immediately decides she wants to play chess with him! Queen Bella’s core motivation is to be friends with everyone in Chesslandia, and while she’s never met this sea creature, she knows that chess is the best way to make new friends.
As Queen Bella begins her quest to find the sea monster, LaGroovey, she encounters several other sea creatures who warn her to avoid him because of his forbidding size and appearance. This tests Queen Bella’s commitment to her overarching philosophy: that everyone deserves a friend. When Queen Bella finally gets to the bottom of the Endless Sea, she meets LaGroovey, who turns out to be, just like anyone else, looking for someone to play with.
One of the most important themes of “Chess is a Sea” is Queen Bella’s refusal to accept the bias of other creatures in the Endless Sea who only judge LaGroovey based on his looks. By the end of the lesson series, Chess at Three students will see how an act of trust and a commitment to teaching can lead to the betterment of a whole community. Putting aside prejudice is shown to be the first step in this process, which begins to bring the disparate groups in the story’s undersea world into harmony with one another.
The Future of Chess at Three
Chess at Three is launching Thinking Cup, an interactive online chess and video platform for children to have fun and learn chess with their tutors. Thinking Cup will be able to reach a wider community and offer the same opportunities for growth and empowerment online that each child would get from in-person learning. With their offerings of virtual classes that can be accessed from classrooms and homes, curriculum licensing and teacher training, and a growing library of video lessons, Chess at Three now has the ability to meet schools and families at any budget.
If you’d like your child to learn about chess and how to be a better global citizen, we can’t recommend Chess at Three and Thinking Cup enough. Looking to hear more about our partners? Sign up for our monthly newsletter!