A+ Chess Puzzle (Pilot)
Grades 2-8
- The UIL Legislative Council has authorized a pilot event in Chess Puzzle solving for the A+ Academic program.
- The Chess Puzzle Solving pilot will be offered for grades 2-8 in three divisions: grades 2-3, grades 4-5 and grades 6-8. As with other A+ events, districts may choose to structure with these as combined divisions or may choose to offer a separate division for each indvidual grade level. Each division will take a 30-minute objective test.
- Download the current contest rules for 2011-12.
How do we participate?
- District meet directors simply check the box and specify grade levels when completing the online District Meet Information and Materials Order Form. Pilot materials will be sent as a packet of original documents that districts can duplicate as needed.
- The pilot currently includes district meets only; invitational meet contest materials are NOT currently available from UIL for the pilot event.
What study and practice resources are available?
There are thousands of chess web sites available online, many that include chess puzzles, and many that are designed for kids. Below are links for some of these sites; more will be added.
- Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (includes a daily chess puzzle and downloadable training guide for teachers and parents)
- Kid Chess
- Chess.com and ChessKid.com
- ChessMaterials.com (includes study packets, books and DVDs for purchase)
Are there invitational meets?
Yes. SPICE and school district partners are sponsoring multiple invitational meets around the state, including the following:
Additional meet information will be added when available.
What is a pilot event?
Pilot status allows a new event to be adopted essentially on a trial basis. Contest rules for pilot events are NOT included in the Constitution & Contest Rules, so they may be adjusted on an ongoing basis during the pilot period. The current A+ Social Studies event spent three years in pilot status before the Council voted to adopt it as an official UIL event. Pilot events may or may not ultimately become official events.
What is Chess Puzzle Solving?
The benefits of chess are well documented for players of all ages, and especially for young people. Chess teaches problem solving, hones concentration and encourages analytical and strategic thinking. Chess can be a lifelong pursuit.
Chess puzzle competition is very different from tournament chess play. Contestants in a chess puzzle contest receive a paper-and-pencil test that includes a series of chess boards with pieces in particular positions. The contestant must then determine the fewest moves to checkmate given that particular board layout. Time is also a factor - contestants are scored based on the most puzzles solved in the least amount of time. See below for a sample test.
A chess puzzle event provides an avenue for chess participation that does not require the time and resources of actual tournament play. The fixed time limit makes it practical to include in a district meet schedule, and the availability of free resources allows any school (including those that do not currently have chess programs) to include chess puzzle in their slate of A+ events at minimal cost.
Where did this idea come from?
The proposal for a UIL chess puzzle competition came from the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE), a division of Texas Tech University. Ms. Polgar is one of the world's leading chess players. She is currently the top-ranked woman player in the United States, and she was the first woman ever to earn the title of chess Grandmaster.
