Season 2 | Her Move Next 5
Benefits Beyond The Board

BY CHLOE COHEN - THE CHAPIN SCHOOL - COACH & COLUMNIST
BY MAYA DORON-REPA - SPEYER SCHOOL LEGACY - COACH & COLUMNIST

Friday, September 27, 2019

After holding five successful tournaments, Her Move Next (HMN) has made a name for itself as one of the prominent movements for girls in chess. HMN provides a safe space for girls to pursue chess. HMN believes it is important to allow girls to learn chess together and compete with other girls, as chess is often considered to be dominated by men.

While calling “check!” from across the board is a nice perk, chess also helps players build bonds with their teammates, opponents, and coaches. Like any sport, chess teaches participants about working together and building friendships. HMN further encourages teamwork through the organization of its tournaments. Players compete to win the most games in their quad, and combine their own points with those of their teammates for team awards. The strategic game also teaches players how to plan ahead and make calculations.

“I really liked building bonds with the players, because some of the players were really nice, and I thought it was really nice to come together and teach them about chess,” Simone Morden, Her Move Next Coach, said.

HMN Coaches also help players deal with difficult situations on the chess board. HMN teaches students about the importance of persistence and not giving up, even when all seems lost. HMN Coaches teach girls how to analyze the situation at hand. Players learn that mistakes are a part of not only chess, but also life. Girls learn to think less catastrophically and more along the lines of I just made a mistake, but that’s okay. What can I do to make my current position better? rather than I just lost my knight! I’m going to lose!

HMN teaches players how to apply chess’s element of risk and reward to every-day life. It can be hard to willingly place your beloved rook in danger, even if a larger gain is sure to follow. HMN hopes that teaching players about sacrifice in chess will show them that the same skill can be advantageous in everyday life, such as investing in a stock for a future monetary reward.

“Chess is important to me because I can learn new things that go around in the world,” one HMN tournament participant said.

As with anything that requires a time commitment, chess teaches players about time management. HMN Coaches train players to manage their time on the chess board. HMN tournaments are usually played with a 25-minute time control. At HMN tournaments, girls learn not only about the importance of time management, but also how to handle time pressure. Players are able to identify how long they should spend on a move. In addition, balancing schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and a social life is a common struggle for many students. HMN believes that chess helps players learn how to manage such commitments.

In general, chess arms players with a set of tools that can be helpful in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM). HMN teaches girls to plan ahead, think in patterns, and visualize the moves on the board. Players also learn to consider the strategy behind their opponents’ moves, not just their own. All of these are important skills that can be utilized in STEAM activities.