Off to Camp

There are still openings at Chicago-area chess camps this summer

Are there still empty weeks in your kid’s schedule this summer? If you’re looking for a way to fill them with something fun and educational, consider one of several chess camps going on in the Chicago area. There might just be one to suit your needs.

All of the camps listed below are run by trained professionals and reputable chess organizations. They’ll work with your kids to show them a good time and improve their chess games. Most combine chess with other activities, to keep the chess fun and prevent it from turning into drudgery. Call or write to each group for details.

The newest camp takes place on the North Side, at the Touch Move Chess Center, a popular new chess club run by International Master Angelo Young, the current and five-time Illinois state chess champion. The six-week camp starts next week, so get in touch soon: (773) 627-2759 or tmchesscenter@hotmail.com. I think you can attend camp for any number of the six weeks it’s open, but check with IM Young for details. More information here.

The only camp I know of on the South Side is run by the Hyde Park Academy for Scholastic Chess, at the Kennicott Park Field House. That’s probably started already, but since it goes for six weeks you may still be able to get in. Get in touch with Coach Wayne Smith.

Chess Education Partners and Renaissance Knights both have camps in the city and out in the ‘burbs.

Check ‘em out. Go to camp and come back to school in midseason form.