Chess Merit Badge

The Boy Scouts of America introduced the Chess merit badge during events on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011, at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. A chess board was painted on the street outside of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center, and a match was played with Scouts as the chess pieces.

Chess Merit Badge Requirements

Articles related to Chess Merit Badge

 

Chess Terminology  I always go over terminology first when introducing something new to Cub Scouts. This is a good practice for Boy Scouts and Venturers to learn also whenever they are doing skill instruction. So if you are having a chess themed meeting or activity, make sure you are all speaking the same language first. These are some very basic definitions to get you started.

 

Hobbies Troop Program Feature for Boy Scouts  The Boy Scout Roundtable Planning Guide suggests a Hobbies feature for December 2011. So this month we'll take a look at this feature in more depth. Some of the ideas in this program feature will also be useful to Cub Scouts and Venturers who are working on hobbies related programs.

 

Checkerboard Cake  Since I am featuring a chess theme this month, I thought I'd suggest making a checkerboard cake which will look similar to a chess board when sliced as a snack to go along with this theme. One easy way to make a checkerboard cake is with a special checkerboard cake pan.

 

Chess Theme for Scouts  This month I am featuring a Chess theme in honor of the launch of the new Chess merit badge. Chess is a game which requires the player to focus, analyze, and think ahead. So this month I will feature awards related to chess as well as some aids to meet the requirements and some fun ways to help beginners learn the game.

 

Chess Terminology Scramble Puzzle  Earlier this month, I wrote about basic chess terms. So today I am presenting a word scramble puzzle to reinforce the meanings of some of those terms.

 

Chess Merit Badge for Boy Scouts  The new Chess merit badge for Boy Scouts was just launched a few weeks ago. DS is especially excited about this badge. He has always loved chess.

 

Bughouse Chess Game  Bughouse (or Bunk House) is a game which helps even the playing field. Basically, there are two teams which simultaneously play chess together. Each player has a direct opponent, but when he captures a piece, he passes it to one of his teammates to play on the board. The key is to have the direct opponents as evenly matched as possible and then to have the teams fairly well balanced in skill level.

 

Scouting’s Teaching EDGE (BSA Edge Method)  The latest Boy Scout requirements for Tenderfoot and Life ranks require the Scout to use the EDGE method. This is a four step method for teaching a skill. It is sometimes called Scouting’s Teaching EDGE.

 

Atomic Chess Game  Do you think regular chess is boring? Then try atomic chess. In atomic chess, pieces don't just capture other pieces, they explode! Both pieces involved in the capture are destroyed along with any in the surrounding area. Sound like fun?

 

Using Chess Notation  Both the Chess pin from the Cub Scout Academics and Sports program and the Chess merit badge for Boy Scouts have requirements related to using chess notation and recording chess games. If you are not familiar with chess notation, this might seem a little daunting, but it really is pretty easy to learn.

 

Antichess Game  Do you feel like you always lose when you play chess? If you are better at getting your own pieces captured than capturing your opponents pieces, then Antichess is the game for you. In Antichess (sometimes called Suicide Chess or Giveaway Chess) the object is to lose all of your pieces.