Picture: Anthony working on a puzzle. I have nothing new to report as far as my work, but as I have to complete my 200 word post, I will describe a little bit about my mentor. Mr. Aleksandr Kitsis was born in current Moldova, then the Soviet Union, and came to the United States in the 90's. He was originally an engineer, but as jobs became hard to come by he decided to create a career around his passion, chess. While he is a very strong player himself, ranked in top 1% in the United States, he stopped playing competitively nearly a decade ago and has become a chess coach, teacher, and author. Probably the best thing I like about his teaching philosophy is that he does not teach kids chess solely for the sake of chess and producing world class players, but rather as a tool to help develop children in their academics and lives. He points out how practicing chess develops problem solving, strategic thinking, memory, logic, clarity of mind, and a host of other positive traits. This is especially rewarding for the development of mathematics skills and musical ability. I personally can say that almost every conditioned chess player I have met as either been brilliant at math or incredibly talented at a musical instrament, or both (Anthony, for example).
Friday, May 6, 2011
Roman II
Picture: Anthony working on a puzzle. I have nothing new to report as far as my work, but as I have to complete my 200 word post, I will describe a little bit about my mentor. Mr. Aleksandr Kitsis was born in current Moldova, then the Soviet Union, and came to the United States in the 90's. He was originally an engineer, but as jobs became hard to come by he decided to create a career around his passion, chess. While he is a very strong player himself, ranked in top 1% in the United States, he stopped playing competitively nearly a decade ago and has become a chess coach, teacher, and author. Probably the best thing I like about his teaching philosophy is that he does not teach kids chess solely for the sake of chess and producing world class players, but rather as a tool to help develop children in their academics and lives. He points out how practicing chess develops problem solving, strategic thinking, memory, logic, clarity of mind, and a host of other positive traits. This is especially rewarding for the development of mathematics skills and musical ability. I personally can say that almost every conditioned chess player I have met as either been brilliant at math or incredibly talented at a musical instrament, or both (Anthony, for example).
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Roman, I am interested to see what you produce. You should have plenty of time to develop your skills while working with such a master! Keep posting...
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