by Alicia Rudnicki, Library Mix

Card and board games are fun, relaxing ways for children to practice many   skills. They are particularly good for honing logic, strategy, and social acumen.

Public libraries offer educational opportunities extending far beyond their bookshelves, and that includes special events involving games. Many offer free family game nights and daytime game clubs for kids. You may even be lucky enough to find a weekly chess club for your child.

Although people began playing chess many centuries ago in China, India, and Persia, no one knows exactly where or how the game originated. Essortment provides a fascinating overview of the game’s history and says that it is “the oldest skill game in the world.” Aside from being fun, there appear to be a number of practical reasons why it has survived.

Looking before you leap
Why is chess such a good choice for kids? Researchers say it strengthens concentration, problem solving, mathematical ability, and critical thinking skills that help children learn to look before they leap in many life situations.

Helping kids stay out of trouble is a major reason why the Crime Prevention Unit of the Norfolk, Virginia, Police Department established its “chess initiative” earlier this year. Police play chess with youth weekly. This provides an opportunity for one-on-one mentorship as well as fun.

Another free program that is improving children’s lives is the Detroit City Chess Club, which has produced national champions. A video about the club’s success is embedded below. As one 13-year-old girl says about chess, “It helps me to think deeper into what I’m doing.”

Sharpening young wits
Helping people to "think deeper" is what libraries are all about, which is why so many offer chess and other game activities to sharpen the wits of young patrons. For example, the Lakeside and Del Mar branches of San Diego Public Library are offering children’s chess clubs this summer.

In 2009, a chess club at the district’s Santee Library was documented in the second video embedded at the end of this story. While an adult chess master facilitates the group, it is clear that children share what they know and thereby do much of the teaching themselves.

Children’s chess clubs are available this summer in public libraries from Alhambra, California, to  Urbana, Illinois and from Bloomfield, New Jersey, to Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

If your library doesn’t have a children’s chess club, consider another excellent alternative: a book on the subject. You may be able to find one at your local library, and a visit to the library is always a good move.