File:Chess Club 2000.jpg

This photo is from 2000 and shows the members of the BHS Chess Club.

Students need to learn how to analyze a situation, decide on their best response to that situation, and be able to accept and deal with the consequences of their actions. These are exactly the lessons that chess teaches, and it is why chess is such a valuable educational tool.

Kids benefit academically, socially and in other areas critical for success in life as a result of playing chess. And they have fun while doing so. Chess-playing has long been shown to correlate with improved academic performance in students through its emphasis on critical or strategic thinking skills, improved concentration and tenacity, and because serious chess-playing frequently results in greater self-esteem.

Because kids tend to think of chess players as "smart," students who learn to play the game believe they, too, are smart; in numerous documented cases, academic performance improved as a result of becoming involved with chess.

I do not know who the advisor of the Chess Club was at the time.

Front Row (L to R) – Ashley Danver, Henry Myers, Erin Stone, Scott Hale, Trey Coates Second Row – Tom Cutler, Joel Atwood, Zack Thew, Byron Hildebrand, Wade Palmer, Katy Courtright, Richard Morrison Third Row – Scott Bryan, Kevin Goode, Danny Lynn, Steve Ferrell, Patrick Smith, Phil Custer Top Row – Mike Aaron, P.J. Hoopengardner, Jeremy Wallick, Mike Crim, Chris Hill, Bill Clevenger

Photo courtesy Ron Evans