WEIBEL CHESS OF YESTERYEAR HAS CEASED TO EXIST!

I regret to report that the 32 years of Weibel Chess as both an educational, recreational and a competitive program has come to an end. My belief that the program would continue with a semblance of the 32-year history I established will not occur. Due to changes in the Fremont Unified School District’s facilities process and a loss of enthusiasm at the school office the hopes I had along with the parent committee have been dashed. I am sure that sometime in the future Weibel Elementary School will have chess taught after school through one of the many chess businesses in the Bay Area. However, I do not believe it will be “Weibel Chess” for these companies, while teaching the basics of chess, are in the end a chess business not a chess school program.

HOW WEIBEL CHESS APPROACHES CREATING BETTER CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS!

Earlier today, on an exchange on critical thinking, a friend stated that to learn critical thinking people should learn chess. The comment provided me an opportunity to explain my view on chess teaching and critical thinking. This has been the foundation of Weibel Chess in the past and I hope it will remain the teaching philosophy in the future as I leave the program. Here is what I wrote with a couple of edits: Yes, only if they have an instructor that is interacting with the students and not just talking to the Demo board. As I said earlier, critical thinking isn't taught it is experienced and demands interaction and challenges--thinking about what you are thinking while you are thinking. While chess demands critical thinking, I would also say, that a fair number of the better chess players had "critical thinking" in their blood. Their skills were simply enhanced. I can't prove that, however.

Those of us who have run school chess programs over the years know that a few students sent to the chess classes are there because the parents want babysitters in the afternoon when the school lets out or simply want their child to learn the basics of chess. They are unaware of the studies that show how much chess not only improves analytical thinking but also improves student performance in school courses. Unless you have Socratic like instructors who can challenge every student, they only learn how to move the pieces.

With teachers (not coaches) who can challenge, most of the students want to return. The program does not become, what I refer to as revolving door chess where your instructors teach the same material year after year to new groups of “recruits.” The students return and soon you have different levels of instruction to meet the needs of your little critical thinkers. Stated simply, you have thinkers not stinkers.

Some children get to a level of analyzing, knowledge, and chess skill with a love of the sport and art of the game where they continue to extremely high chess levels where they likely need and often obtain coaches. Weibel Elementary School, a public school limited to one neighborhood, has been blessed to have had several outstanding chess students in its 33year history and has fared well against private schools and open area public schools where they often have a very select group of students. Yet, for all levels of those who learn chess, our slogan says it all, “Chess is Forever!”

A few of the students at Weibel could even "learn" from a demo board talking head, one who seldom if ever looks at or questions/challenges the students, because they love analyzing and studying on their own. I have not kept demo board talking heads. OK, I lied, I did keep one at the school, Hans Poschmann, who you knew well. He was such a warm, loving, and bubbly person, perhaps personified in his playing only one chess opening, "The Orangutang."😂 Please don’t ask me to explain that. 🙃 Hans, RIP, without interacting with the students while always looking at his demo board, somehow brought something else to his students-humanity's warmth & love which I would argue is even more vital than critical thinking.

HOPE TO BEGIN CHESS NEXT WEEK SHATTERED. HOPE REIGNS ETERNAL

I am upset and sad to announce that Weibel Chess cannot begin next week as previously thought. The Parent Teacher Organization CPA advised the Chess Committee against hiring instructors even though the hiring and salaries would be paid by an outside individual with reimbursement from the PTO who would have collected the tuition. The PTO felt they had no choice but to withdraw the permits for they would have had to lay out a substantial amount of money without any knowledge if it would be refunded. The CPA did provide five other possible options. The Chess Committee had held off registration when the PTO, despite getting the go ahead from the Weibel School and the District, expressed concern about reimbursing that individual for the payroll costs and rightly decided to check with their CPA. I decided to wait before posting anything until the Chess Committee met and perhaps came up with a Plan B after discussing the five other options. Last night the Chess Committee decided to go with one of the other options. If this Plan B works, I will post the information. Based on an information sheet that was distributed, there should be no trouble in filling the 45 slots for the Club and the 45 for the Team.

WEIBEL CHESS GETTING CLOSE TO RETURNING FACE TO FACE

Weibel Chess may be up and running again starting Wednesday, October 6, 3 to 4:30 for the Club and Thursday, October 7, 3 to 5 for the Team. Just a couple of things to work out. Keep posted.

The Weibel Chess Committee head, Kwee Kuntjara, just sent the following message from the Principal's newsletter: "Please be aware that no after school/group activities are allowed on school property after school hours (these require permits). No permits have been issued at this time. Thank you for understanding." If there are any changes that might provide us with an opportunity to restart Weibel Chess, I will post news on our Blog and our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/Weibel-Chess-213022428884018

NORTH AMERICAN YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP, AUGUST 16-21, 2021 CHICAGO

Most of you know that for many years Weibel Chess Girls have attended the All-Girls Nationals in Chicago. As you also know our girls won a title every year they attended. Those that attended saw a well-organized tournament. This same group, The Renaissance Knights Chess Foundation, is working together in Chicago with a number of other groups including FIDE (The International Chess Federation) to hold the North American Youth Chess Championships from August 16-21, 2021. I urge all of our Team players to give serious thought to attend. No matter how you fair, and some of you will fair well, you will have an opportunity to participate in an international event of the highest caliber.

The organizers recognize the challenges presented by COVID-19 and are implementing precautionary measures to prevent and reduce the spread of COVID-19 among players and guest at the tournament. Details can be found on the event website.

https://www.naycc2021.com

 

TO MEMBERS OF WEIBEL CHESS 2019-2020 AND OTHER POSSIBLY INTERESTED PARTIES:

I hope all of you are doing well.  I know it has a been a rough year for all of us.  I closed Weibel Chess on Friday, March 13th last year.  The Fremont schools closed a day later, I believe.

I do not doubt that fairly soon the schools will open with safety prodigals in place.   I suspect we will be able to reopen Weibel Chess sometime next Fall.  This will necessitate some changes in the program.

As most of you know I have established a Weibel Chess Committee under the leadership of Kwee Kuntjara for this was to be my last year, after 33 years running the program.  I did not want to turn Weibel Chess over to a for-profit Chess Company (even if some of them are non-profits).  There have been two parent run Fremont school chess programs in our area who did so years back and they have not only lost their school identity, but the number of students participating dropped dramatically.

The Weibel Chess Committee met a few times a fair number of months ago. The Chair of the Committee, Kwee Kuntjara, has set a Zoom meeting for tomorrow, Friday night, March 12, at 7:30 PM.  He and I would like to invite any of you who are interested or might be interested in being a member of the committee to attend or just to observe to please let me know ASAP.  WeibelChess@comcast.net and I will send you the Zoom connection.

For those of you who are looking forward to seeing Weibel Chess back in operation here is a summary of what changes I feel will have to occur due to the still lurking dangers of Covid 19 in the Fall:

Weibel Chess, when we reopen will have to use only the Multi-use Room.  The membership will be limited to between 30 and 45 students with the Club on Tuesday and the same number on the Team on Friday. The hours on the Friday Team meetings will be reduced.   These changes will create good social distancing, better air circulation and clean-up that might need to include disinfectants.

The number of members will be reduced by more than half of those we had.  Of course, without Sixth Grade we would have lost a few members in any case. There will be only a need for three instructors on each day instead of the seven we had for Club and six we had for Team in 2019-2020.  I will hope we can get back three instructors from last year.  Two are no longer in the area and most of those that are now work near full-time for the big Scholastic Chess companies.

The big question is how we will cut off membership.  Those parents who were members in previous years will have first shot until a set date and then Weibel Chess will be open to the Weibel community at large.  I believe that on the Friday Team we should reserve a few spaces for players new to Weibel who have competed in U.S. Chess Federation tournaments and have a rating.

Keep safe and if you have not yet been vaccinate as my wife and I have, I hope you will be able to obtain yours soon.