The Magic of Chess, Community, and Sportsmanship

Over the course of my eight years at Browning, I’ve sat down at a chessboard for a game with a student about 20 times. I’ve managed a draw or a stalemate on three or four occasions, but was defeated in every other match.  (And “defeated” doesn’t seem to capture what once happened against a top Upper School player, who dispatched me in what seemed like six moves.)  Sometimes it’s a Grade 2 boy just finding his way in the game, sometimes it’s a Middle School student who has become a competitive player—but every time, it ends with a Browning boy sending me from the table wondering where I went wrong.

There are, I think, some lessons in my experience, beyond the fact that I should probably stick with checkers. It’s noteworthy that when I enter a game, it is always the boy who invites me to play. I like this for what I think it says about how our students regard relationships with adults in our building. I know that when I was a kid, whether I was six or 16, the notion of approaching a teacher to play a game—to do anything fun, for that matter—would have been unimaginable. Now, maybe boys have learned that a game with the Head of School is an easy W, but I sense something else is afoot. In a school where students feel connected with teachers, coaches, and advisors; where they believe that their interests and aspirations will be known and nurtured, the idea of asking the Head of School for a game of chess is a natural expression of an environment, not an unusual request.   

The second thing worth observing, even if it’s obvious, is the fact that Browning boys actually get pretty good at the game. This isn’t an arbitrary happening, of course, but instead the result of talented boys having dedicated time for instruction and play, during which they receive strong coaching. With chess incorporated into our K-2 curriculum, and with the guidance of outstanding coach Giorgi Bakhtadze, our Lower School boys get a terrific foundation in the principles, strategies, and emotional rewards of proper chess play. This foundation has propelled interested students into our chess team, which gives Lower, Middle, and Upper Schoolers alike the opportunity to test their learning and expand their play at metro, state, and national tournaments throughout the year.

Finally, each and every time I conclude a game with a Browning boy, he offers me his hand. Now, I grant that it’s likely easier to shake hands and say, “Good game!” when you’ve mopped the board with your Head of School than after you’ve lost a hotly contested match. But my strong impression has been that our boys are not simply being good winners; rather, they are exercising a disposition for sportsmanship that has been trained, nurtured, and practiced. I am proud that all Browning teams—athletics, robotics, debate, etc.—have been coached to value fair play and respect for competitors as much as excellent performance. When a boy shakes my hand upon the conclusion of a match, I know that he has internalized the ethical influence of Coach Bakhtadze and long-time Coach Kennedy before him, and that he is expressing himself as a gentleman—in the best sense of the word.

Chess is esteemed for developing our powers of logic and reasoning, for accentuating the beauty of mathematical patterns, for emphasizing the importance of patience and perseverance in living well, and for any number of other salutary benefits. What most wins chess my affection and dedication, however, is what the game reveals about those who play it—their potential to become skilled players, certainly, but also their capacity to actualize the deepest, most necessary values of our school’s mission.