INFORMATION FOR FALL 2024
Students in grades K through 5 are invited to join the Somerset Chess Club. Kindergartners should know simple math and some reading and writing. Chess is excellent at teaching children mental discipline, to look at all options, to compete under time pressure, to play fair, to learn that mistakes have consequences, to not give up when behind, and many more important life lessons. Somerset’s Chess Club has consistently performed well in state tournaments.
On Mondays, Coach Brad will lead the Beginner Group and Coach Tim will lead the Intermediate I Group.
On Tuesdays, Coach Brad will lead the Intermediate II Group and Coach Tim will lead the Advance Group.
All sessions are scheduled from 3:45pm to 5:00pm.
IMPORTANT: By registering you are agreeing to the After School Policy last revised September 9, 2024, click to review.
PTSA member registration opens at 10:00am on Monday, September 23, 2024. General registration will open Friday, September 27, 2024 at 3:00 p.m., if the class has not sold out. Registration will close the earlier on reaching the max capacity of the class or Sunday, September 29, 2024, 2024 at 11:59pm. Please purchase a membership prior to starting the Chess Club registration process. Create/Renew PTSA Membership.
Please check and update your child's grade and teacher's name prior to registration through My Account.
* Please note that students will not have a choice of group, as the coaches will assess and schedule students according to ability and class size. We will ask for your preferred class day but preference for class day and time cannot be guaranteed.
Registration: sold out please join the waitlist
Cost: The tuition rate is $500 (with an additional 3% transaction fee that will be added during the checkout) which includes 25 chess club sessions and Gold membership for the ChessKid website. (Please note that one spot will be reserved for the Club Chair, if applicable.)
Not included: Extracurricular tournament registration fees if applicable (about $20 per tournament).
NO REFUNDS after registration.
All tuition received will be allocated to pay Independent Contractor fees, administrative processing fees, costs and fees, fees and costs passed on by Bellevue School District, scholarships, and any other expenses or costs related to after school programs. Any tuition that was not used by the end of the program will be accounted for as a donation under the Somerset PTSA general fundraiser.
Parents must be available to attend at least one to two chess sessions during the year for each enrolled student to assist the coaches. This participation is required. Parents will help remind students to maintain social distance, help monitor students, help to run the club, help with checkout, and make sure rooms are clean at the end of class.
Use the following link to reserve your Parent Volunteer spots:
https://www.signupgenius.com/
The SignUp Genius is set up with all the sessions for the rest of the school year. It is a first-come, first-serve basis so please sign up for the dates that work best for your schedule. After October 31st, in order for us to have at least two volunteers per session, we will assign dates to parents who have not signed up.
Parents must complete the Bellevue School District Volunteer background check and check-in at the Somerset Office on their volunteer day.
Coach Tim and Coach Brad have over 20 years of combined chess teaching experience and are the cofounders of All About Chess. Both coaches teach openings, middle game strategies, end game principles, tactics such as pins, forks, skewers, distraction, X-rays, decoys damming, blockades, and many others. They will cover checkmates, stalemates, how to determine when a piece is in trouble, how to escape trouble, how to attack and defend, how to look at all your options, preserve your material, improve your position, and how to compete.
| Advanced Chess Coach | Beginning Chess Coach | Chess Club Chairs |
|---|---|---|
| Tim Campbell | Brad Stensland |
Jillianne Brakenridge
|
| 425-777-6035 cell | 425-429-2289 | |
| [email protected] | [email protected] | [email protected] |
