During Ac-Lab, Spanish teacher Adam Stiller allows students to practice, play, or learn chess with him or other students.

“Since we have been trying to find a way to make it best for people, we have decided to mostly do lab chess, due to the past covid making us switch gears. If conditions get better, we will get back to after-school chess,” Stiller said. 

There are a lot of benefits to playing class including having fun, being a mentally challenging game, and actually having to think about the moves and use your brain instead of just swiping on a screen.

“Playing chess, you have to play, think, learn, and respond and it makes it a richer experience,” Stiller said. 

Chess requires the player to think ahead and plan a strategy to overcome their opponent. 

“I decided to join chess for the fun, connection, and help with stress. In the future, I want to actually come in and learn everything and possibly be able to compete,” sophomore Ja’khi Bunch said. 

According to educational research and reviews, students who play chess show significant improvement in problem-solving. 

“It’s also a social game. You’re connecting with somebody else in a directly memorable way, and often the games play out like stories, writing them against each other and rich interaction,” Stiller said. 

Students can also relax and release stress while playing, improving their mental and analytical skills. 

“A few things I can say about playing is it’s very relaxing talking to my opponent about what move I can make and what’s the best move I can make. Also, it betters my friendship with Brice Tyler too, ” Bunch said. 

Typically, there is no specific age to start playing but it can be as young as 5-6 learning the basics and understanding rules to get more advanced when we evolve. 

“I learned the rules as a kid, but never really followed up a lot. I got interested as a young adult, and got more into the historic backstory which made me wanna play more.” Stiller said.

However, fast-paced games aren’t for everyone. You can’t make mistakes that cost you the game, not knowing what moves you are moving correctly. Key reason to take your time and go slow, for critical thinking. 

“ However, since it was my first time I was moving slowly as a snail, but the more I was learning the faster I got. It really takes patience and motivation to learn something,” Bunch said.