Boy Scouts of America

Chess Merit Badge

Chess
Merit Badge

Boy Scouts of America Merit Badge Hub

Boy Scouts of America
Merit Badge Hub

Chess

Chess Merit Badge Overview

Chess is among the oldest board games in the world, and it ranks among the most popular games ever created. Chess is played worldwide—even over the Internet. Players meet for fun and in competition, everywhere from kitchen tables and park benches to formal international tournaments.
Chess_merit-badge-overview

Chess Merit Badge Requirements

The requirements will be fed dynamically using the scout book integration
1. Discuss with your merit badge counselor the history of the game of chess. Explain why it is considered a game of planning and strategy.
2. Discuss with your merit badge counselor the following:
  • (a) The benefits of playing chess, including developing critical thinking skills, concentration skills, and decision-making skills, and how these skills can help you in other areas of your life
  • (b) Sportsmanship and chess etiquette
3. Demonstrate to your counselor that you know each of the following. Then, using Scouting's Teaching EDGE*, teach someone (preferably another Scout) who does not know how to play chess:
  • (a) The name of each chess piece
  • (b) How to set up a chessboard
  • (c) How each chess piece moves, including castling and en passant captures
4. Do the following:
  • (a) Demonstrate scorekeeping using the algebraic system of chess notation.
  • (b) Discuss the differences between the opening, the middle game, and the endgame.
  • (c) Explain four opening principles.
  • (d) Explain the four rules for castling.
  • (e) On a chessboard, demonstrate a "scholar's mate" and a "fool's mate."
  • (f) Demonstrate on a chessboard four ways a chess game can end in a draw.
5. Do the following:
  • (a) Explain four of the following elements of chess strategy: exploiting weaknesses, force, king safety, pawn structure, space, tempo, time.
  • (b) Explain any five of these chess tactics: clearance sacrifice, decoy, discovered attack, double attack, fork, interposing, overloading, overprotecting, pin, remove the defender, skewer, zwischenzug.
  • (c) Set up a chessboard with the white king on e1, the white rooks on a1 and h1, and the black king on e5. With White to move first, demonstrate how to force checkmate on the black king.
  • (d) Set up and solve five direct-mate problems provided by your merit badge counselor.
6. Do ONE of the following:
  • (a) Play at least three games of chess with other Scouts and/or your merit badge counselor. Replay the games from your score sheets and discuss with your counselor how you might have played each game differently.
  • (b) Play in a scholastic (youth) chess tournament and use your score sheets from that tournament to replay your games with your merit badge counselor. Discuss with your counselor how you might have played each game differently.
  • (c) Organize and run a chess tournament with at least four players, plus you. Have each competitor play at least two games.

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Play chess anywhere with this downloadable paper chess set. Just print out the template, cut out the pieces and start playing! WHAT YOU’LL NEED 1 sheet of 8 1/2 x 11-inch cardstock paper (any paper will do, but thicker paper works best. You can also cut out a cereal box or FedEx envelope to the right size) Click here to download the paper chess template Printer Scissors Download 884 KB PDF WHAT YOU’LL DO 1. Print out the paper chess template in color or black-and-white. Use normal settings with the smallest possible margins for best results. 2. Use scissors to cut out the pieces by following the dotted lines. 3. Assemble each piece with stands. 4. Play a game of chess! Visit go.scoutlife.org/chess for tips, or check out the Chess merit badge. Paper chess template and instructions courtesy of Matt Murray and Chess and Co.
Making your own chess set can be as easy as digging around in your dad’s spare parts drawer. Wing nuts, anchor caps, bolts, washers and a few other odd pieces of specialty hardware are all you need to make your own version of this “hardware chess” set. WHAT YOU’LL NEED AND HOW YOU’LL DO IT Total cost: An hour’s time and less than $25. And if you ever lose a piece, you can make another for next to nothing! Remember: You need a total of 16 pawns, four rooks (also called castles), four knights, four bishops, two kings and two all-powerful queens. Follow the instructions below, or spend some time browsing at the hardware store for pieces to customize your set. You’ll also need the following: White glue 1 cup of vinegar Small plastic container Pliers Screwdriver Submerge half of the nuts and bolts in the vinegar overnight. This will create one light set and one dark set of pieces. It’s best to do this before assembling the pieces. You could also choose to spray paint half of the pieces instead. If you go with this option, it’s best to paint the pieces after they’re assembled. PAWNS For each pawn (16): 5/16 by 3/4-inch hexagonal (six-sided or regular) cap bolts 5/16-inch hexagonal nuts Thread nut onto bolt until 1/4 inch of bolt rises above the nut. Glue in place. ROOKS OR CASTLES For each rook (4): 5/16 by 1 1/2-inch hexagonal nut sleeve anchors Use sleeve anchor as is. KNIGHTS For each knight (4): 1/4 by 2-inch eye bolts with nuts Thread nut onto eye bolt until edge of bolt is even with nut. Glue in place by applying glue to the threads of the bolt, twisting on the nut, then wiping off the excess. BISHOPS For each bishop (4): 5/16 by 1 1/2-inch hexagonal cap bolts 5/16-inch wing nuts 5/16-inch locking nuts with nylon inserts Thread wing nut onto bolt. Thread insert lock onto bolt, and tighten. Secure wing nut against insert lock. KINGS For each king (2): 1/4-inch hollow wall anchors (long) No. 14 finishing washers 1/4-inch flat washers 1/4-inch wing nuts 1/4-inch anchor caps Grip end of hollow wall anchor with pliers, tighten screw with screwdriver until metal strips flair out. Remove center screw, add finish washer, replace screw into wall anchor. Add flat washer. Thread wing nut onto screw end, then tighten anchor cap to end of screw. QUEENS For each queen (2): 1/4-inch hollow wall anchors (short) No. 14 finish washers 1/4-inch wing nuts 5/16-inch external toothed washers 1/4-inch nylon insert locks Tighten screw of hollow wall anchor as for kings. Remove center screw, add finish washer, replace screw into wall anchor. Thread wing nut onto screw end upside down. Then add toothed washed and tighten locking nut to end of screw.
Command an army. Sharpen your mind. Outwit your opponent. Have fun. You’ll get all this and more with chess, a game of strategy that has been challenging the world’s greatest thinkers for 15 centuries. Playing the game can be tough. That’s why we asked 23-year-old chess grandmaster and Eagle Scout Kayden Troff for his nine tips to become a better player. 1. WORK HARD Chess is a game of skill. That means it requires lots of hard work. Schedule times for practice, reading and studying. 2. HAVE FUN Because chess is so demanding to play, it’s easy to forget to simply have fun while sitting at the board. Smile, laugh and enjoy the thrill of competition. 3. FIND YOUR STYLE You might feel more comfortable defending your pieces, or maybe you have a knack for attacking. Either way, identify your style so you can steer the game in that direction. Plus, identifying your strengths will help you improve your weaknesses. 4. DON’T GIVE UP Kayden says there have been plenty of times he was able to draw or win games others thought he should have lost. That’s because he doesn’t let errors get him down. If you make a mistake, it’s easy to give up or mentally check out. Don’t! Chances are, if you keep playing and stay positive, you’ll see things aren’t as bad as you thought. 5. PLAY OFTEN Whether it’s with family, friends or on your smartphone, find a way to play daily. There are plenty of great resources for anyone interested in playing chess, from newbie to expert. 6. CONTROL THE CENTER The four squares in the center of the board are ideal to have in your control. That’s the gateway to the rest of the board, allowing you to move your pieces wherever you want. Just be careful about leaving your king in the middle of the board too long; it exposes that all-important piece to attacks. 7. DEVELOP YOUR PIECES Some people get caught up pushing pawns or focusing on one specific piece. Use the full arsenal of each of your pieces. They’re there for a reason. Move them off their first position and get them in the fight! 8. WATCH YOUR QUEEN EARLY Your queen is the strongest piece. Sometimes players get too eager to move it out and start attacking. Instead, allow your opponent to develop his pieces before moving your queen into the mix. 9. CALCULATE IT Calculating is the term for looking four or five or more moves ahead of what’s currently on the board. It’s a skill that needs to be developed over time, but one that separates good players from great ones. Kayden Troff first appeared in the pages of this magazine in 2010. Back then, he made headlines for being rated the No. 1 chess player in the world age 12 or younger. In 2012, he was World U14 Chess Champion. At age 16, he became a grandmaster, the highest title a chess player can attain. To earn the title, Kayden dedicated years to practicing, studying and practically living all things chess, but he credits Scouting for much of his success. “Scouting taught me how to focus, work hard, become more self-reliant,” he says. “And those are skills vital to success in chess.
Ten years after helping develop the Chess merit badge, the Saint Louis Chess Club continues teaching the badge to hundreds of Scouts every year. In 2020, when the pandemic forced classes online, 476 Scouts from 35 states participated. To learn more about teaching the badge, Scouting recently connected with Scholastic Manager Kyle Weber. Here are his top tips. Check your credentials Whatever you’re teaching, you need to know more than your students. Weber recommends counselors have an Elo score (a standard measure of proficiency) of 1200 or more, which puts them in roughly the 75th percentile of players. “You have to have the chess skill to be able to adequately challenge and study with the kids,” he says. “If the kids are coming in and they’re kicking your butt all over the board, you’re not teaching them anything.” Stretch your Scouts While most Scouts are novices, some have been playing in tournaments for years. But those veterans still need a challenge. “Because we have such huge, all-encompassing chess resources online, you can find puzzles and tactics that easily match the Scouts’ Elo or perceived rating,” Weber says. A good example is National Master Caleb Denby’s video of the “Hardest Mate-in-One” on the club’s YouTube channel. iStock by Getty Images Teach the language Scouts need to know the rules of chess, of course, but they also need to know how to “speak” chess. For example, “Bc4” means the bishop moves to the c4 square. “It’s really easy to say, ‘take that piece’ or ‘move that piece,’” Weber says. “But move what piece where? We need to be very specific with our algebraic notation.” (A great way to practice the language is with the club’s free Read & Write Chess workbook.) Once everyone has mastered the basics, the sequencing of requirements becomes less important. “I might be talking about how pieces move and capture, but I’m also embedding in these puzzles pins, forks and other tactics,” he says. “You’re always talking about opening principles in theory through every lesson.” Count your Scouts The Chess merit badge lends itself to group instruction since every Scout needs an opponent. Weber recommends even numbers of Scouts so the counselor doesn’t need to play. “If I’m a merit badge counselor and I’m playing against a Scout, I have to focus one to one,” he says. “That’s fine, but doing that constantly, you’re missing out on all the other games.” Weber feels comfortable teaching 16 Scouts in person but smaller numbers online. “It’s also hard to find the kids who are quiet online because it’s easy to turn off your camera or mute yourself,” he says.
If you think digital natives avoid games that lack batteries or power cords, think again. Last year, the BSA awarded nearly twice as many Chess merit badges as Robotics merit badges. In fact, since its introduction in 2011, Chess has consistently ranked among the 25 most popular badges — even beating out Eagle-required badges like Lifesaving. Here are some teaching tips from Alexey Root, Ph.D., a Chess merit badge counselor in Dallas and the author of seven books on chess, including the Scouting-focused Prepare With Chess Strategy, out this November from Mongoose Press. Finding CounselorsChessMB Like all merit badges, Chess requires Scouts to work with a qualified merit badge counselor. And the requirements — full of terms like “scholar’s mate,” “pawn structure” and “zwischenzug” (really!) — make it clear that counselors need to know far more than the difference between a bishop and a rook. That doesn’t mean counselors need to be grandmasters. Root says a general rule is that a counselor should have a rating of at least 1050 with the United States Chess Federation (USCF) — roughly halfway between novice and expert. Someone with that rating should be able to defeat 90 percent of the players in a scholastic chess tournament. Where can you find counselors? Root recommends starting on the USCF website, uschess.org, which features a state-by-state club directory. “After you find a chess club near you, you could visit that club and interview the rated players who attend it,” she says. Qualifying Candidates While you might think Scouts need to be intellectually mature to do well with the badge, Root says emotional maturity is more important. “Losing a game of chess can be tough emotionally, as there is no luck to blame,” she says. “So if a leader notices that a particular Scout cannot handle losing at other sports or games, that Scout probably is not ready for the Chess merit badge.” Pushing the Pamphlet Another aspect of readiness is beginning the badge with some basic knowledge. Root strongly recommends Scouts read the Chess merit badge pamphlet before meeting with her or taking one of her workshops. Once they have read the sections on the benefits and history of chess, how to set up a chessboard, how each chessman moves and chess etiquette, they are ready to learn about the finer points of the game. These sections also align with the badge’s first three requirements, so Scouts who have read the pamphlet should be able to complete half the badge in fairly short order. Strategy, Tactics and Tournaments The other three requirements focus on strategy, tactics and — most important — actually playing the game. Scouts can play against each other or their counselor, participate in a scholastic tournament or organize a tournament of their own. Whichever option they choose, many players will lose, but that’s OK. Root emphasizes that players who lose learn. And knowing how to pick up the pieces and start over is one of the best life lessons you can teach.
All of the pieces lined up perfectly last week as a group of Scouts in St. Louis became some of the first girls in the country to earn the Chess merit badge. At the workshop, held Feb. 3, a group of 12 girls earned this popular merit badge with the help of some of the world’s best chess players. As luck would have it, some grandmasters were in town to compete in a major international chess tournament for women. The St. Louis Chess Club has hosted workshops for the Chess merit badge since the badge’s debut in 2011. Over the course of a day, instructors teach Scouts about chess history, etiquette, tactics, openings, endgames and tournament play. But this workshop was special, because this workshop was the first one designed just for Scouts BSA girls.

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Bray Barnes

Director, Global Security Innovative
Strategies

Bray Barnes is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver
Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Learning for Life Distinguished
Service Award. He received the Messengers of Peace Hero award from
the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he’s a life member of
the 101st Airborne Association and Vietnam Veterans Association. Barnes
serves as a senior fellow for the Global Federation of Competitiveness
Councils, a nonpartisan network of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and
national laboratory directors. He has also served as a senior executive for the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading the first-responder program
and has two U.S. presidential appointments

David Alexander

Managing Member Calje

David Alexander is a Baden-Powell Fellow, Summit Bechtel Reserve philanthropist, and recipient of the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the founder of Caljet, one of the largest independent motor fuels terminals in the U.S. He has served the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, Teen Lifeline, and American Heart Association. A triathlete who has completed hundreds of races, Alexander has also mentored the women’s triathlon team at Arizona State University.

Glenn Adams

President, CEO & Managing Director
Stonetex Oil Corp.

Glenn Adams is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the former president of the National Eagle Scout Association and established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. He has more than 40 years of experience in the oil, gas, and energy fields, including serving as a president, owner, and CEO. Adams has also received multiple service awards from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.