Thank you to Ms. Olga for teaching chess in our classrooms! Ms. Olga’s weekly class for K-5th grades consists of a mini-lesson followed by partner games where children practice their newly learned skills. Middle school grades can also play chess at lunch.

Chess fosters not only critical thinking, but also the intellectual and social growth of our students. We have a robust and strong team, and our kids are able to participate and win chess tournaments outside of school, thanks to PTO funding.

The BSI Chess Team grows bigger and stronger each year thanks to your donations and dedicated parent volunteers, especially coach Vlad!
 There are several ways to get your kids involved in chess at BSI:

• Participate in chess enrichments during school hours
• Join the BSI Chess team and play in various tournaments
• Questions? Contact chess@bsipto.org

Here are a few reasons why it’s good for kids to play chess:

• Chess is fun!
• Chess helps foster creativity, logical and critical thinking.
• Chess encourages and rewards those who persevere and work hard.
• Chess improves concentration and memory.
• Chess enhances reading and math skills.
• Chess forces to think strategically and foresee the consequences.
• On average, students who play chess score 10 percentage points higher on reading tests than their peers.

Read: Interview with Coach Vladimir Bugayev