<p>DS developed an interest of Chess around the beginning of the year. He spends a lot of time reading books and playing games on line. To further develop his skills, we hire him a coach.</p>
<p>Today, he went to his first competition and did fairly well. The next level will be regional competitions. </p>
<p>He has joint the chess club at HS and he thinks he is good enough to compete for the first chair. </p>
<p>Yes, he is doing well and enjoys the game. Is it possible to make this chess thing into a hook? How good he has to be?</p>
<p>Let him pursue it for a while and see how much he likes the competition world. Go rent “Searching for Bobby Fischer” and take some deep breaths!</p>
<p>I don’t know if schools recruit chess players like they recruit athletes. Somehow I doubt it. Chess is probably more like playing the violin. Unless you are Yo Yo Ma, it isn’t a hook. Well, obviously he’s a cellist, but you know what I mean. He was already famous when he went to Harvard.</p>
<p>Dad II, while just playing in chess tournaments might not be a “hook”, it does get your son involved in something he enjoys. It will be a great EC for his resume if he continues on! It’s a win/win situation!</p>
<p>DadII, you love your children and want what’s best; that is obvious. </p>
<p>Here is advice you did not ask for: As to your son’s new interest in chess, please let this be HIS interest (i.e., give him room, and don’t try to organize this for him) and allow him to decide how important it will be in his life.</p>
<p>The movie Searching for Bobby Fisher is good, the book is even better. I had a chess whiz for a while, but he decided he didn’t want to make the effort to do what it takes to be great. Lots of hours and devotion, no matter how talented you are. And frankly the chess world has a lot of really quirky people in it, though not as bad as the competitive Scrabble world. (Read Wordfreak for that.)</p>
<p>I have absolutely no idea about Chess as a hook, but as an EC, if he were to go to New York University, it could be quite relevant! </p>
<p>Washington Park in Greenwich Village is the only greenery connected to NYU. S could go down the dorm elevator, out the door, and take on the immediate world.</p>
<p>Here’s a brief excerpt from Wiki on “Washington Park” in NYC. On same site is a tiny picture of a built-in chess table from the park.</p>
<p>It shows initiative and curiosity. The how/why he got/stayed involved could make a great essay and say lots about him. I say a hook for the essays … also very current.</p>
<p>I know Dr. Sherman (read the link someone gave if you don’t recognize this name) personally and would bet that if you email him, he will get back to you with advice/input on this topic in a timely manner (and I don’t bet very often). I think you have to be quite good for it to be a hook, though, not just winning a local competition. Back when I last spoke to Alan Sherman about the chess scholarships, I believe those who got these scholarships at his U were in the top 10% of their high school class (or better) with an SAT score over 1400 (out of 1600, as this was years ago before the 2400 SAT) and a USCF rating of over 2000. What is your son’s ranking currently, do you know?</p>
<p>I know a URM who went to an excellent private school, had great grades, good (not great SATS), was state ranked in chess, and had a parent who was an active Ivy alum who knew one of the admissions officers at their alma mater. The student was rejected from the Ivy.</p>
<p>Incidentally, most chess prodigies begin playing chess in elementary school. </p>
<p>My advice (which I believe I’ve given you before) is to let your S naturally follow his interests and talents. When he’s a senior, look for a school that best fits his interests and personality.</p>
<p>BTW, I like quirky too. My son definitely qualifies, but on the whole I’m glad he didn’t choose to join the chess world. That said, if your son is enjoying chess he should play and go to tournaments, it’s great brain exercise. The five or six years my son played competitive chess were very good for him and it was a good place to meet kids like him.</p>
<p>Dad II, I just want to agree with what most people here said. My son was a nationally ranked chess player throughout elementary school and middle school. (he ranked in the top 100, never near the top, always in that bottom 90). In high school he discovered math competitions and the Bay Area Math Circle. He dropped chess so he could attend Math Circle and math competitions. Many of the nationally ranked chess kids he knew also quit chess by the time they were in high school. DS did show chess as an EC on college apps as he didn’t have a lot of EC’s. (He continued to play in the State championship and a few tournaments where he could win money through high school but only when they didn’t conflict with math activities). He was accepted everywhere he applied to college but I doubt it had anything to do with chess except that chess taught him a lot about winning and losing, and undoubtedly helped him develop his thinking skills/mathematic abilities and that was the hook that got him into the colleges he dreamed of attending. </p>
<p>But I’d agree, let your S follow his interests.</p>
<p>The NYT article said that you needed to be near grandmaster rank to get the scholarships. I used to play with a guy that went on to become an international master when he was college age. I lost touch with him so I don’t know how far he went after that.</p>
<p>Around the time of Fischer’s death, the NYT had an article on the relationship between mental health problems and chess players. Makes for an interesting read. One of my favorite authors was Aron Nimzovitch when I was playing a lot and he had a boatload of problems.</p>
<p>When I got to college, I found out how little interest there was in chess. Football? Check. Basketball? Check. Hockey? Check. Chess? Well, more people showed up for the math society meetings than the chess club.</p>
<p>thank you all very much. The keys points I am getting are:</p>
<p>that one has to be really good, like a grand master level to use it as a hook;
that good chess player often has mental issues; and
that development in math is way better than chess.</p>
<p>Action to take, stop paying for the chess coach; let son develop his own interest at whatever pace he wants; and ask him to develop another interest.</p>
<p>In a math club, at least there are others to socialize with and there may be team events where you work together in competitions.</p>
<p>Chess can be quite the solitary endeavor.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that the good chess player often has mental issues. But some of the best players do. You have to memorize an opening library, be good at combinations, understand positional theory, have various endgame scenarios memorized.</p>
<p>I used to play at the Boylston Chess Club in Boston (near the Boston Common), and there was a ping-pong table outside of the chess rooms and those of us that were younger used to hit or play between matches or even between points when opponents took a long time to think. The physical activity (and relief from cigarette smoke) could be most welcome.</p>
<p>If your son enjoys chess and WANTS a coach and you can afford it, why not do it?</p>
<p>You wouldn’t withhold music lessons because your child wasn’t likely to be a professional musician, or because their skill level wouldn’t be likely to get them into college, would you?</p>
<p>If this is an activity that he loves, I’d certainly try to help him pursue it at the level he wants.</p>
<p>I really think that your conclusion that he is likely to develop psychiatric issues if he plays chess seriously is unwarranted. And I really disagree with the idea that you should “ask him to develop another interest.”</p>
Well, obviously he’s a cellist, but you know what I mean. He was already famous when he went to Harvard.</p>