Chess – A new Boy Scout Merit Badge

What comes to mind when you think of Boy Scouts?

Most likely you’ll think of outdoor skills such as camping and hiking. Or you may think of character traits espoused in the Scout Oath (On my honor, I will…), Law (A Scout is Trustworthy…), Slogan (Do a Good Turn Daily), or Motto (Be Prepared).

But one thing we don’t think will spring to mind is board games. Well, have we got a surprise for you.

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has just added a Chess merit badge!

Awesome!

If you’ve followed our site for a while, you may know that I (dad) currently serve as Scoutmaster for a group of boys in our neighborhood. And last year Trevor, Jaden, and I were able to attend the National Boy Scout Jamboree – celebrating 100 years of scouting in America. This summer Trevor also earned his rank of Eagle Scout and Jaden is currently working on his eagle project to earn that rank later this year as well.

So we’re all about teaching values to young men. And as such, we think it’s awesome that the BSA has recognized the value that Chess adds to a young man’s thinking capabilities and skills.

There are over 125 merit badges that boy scouts can earn to develop their skills, explore their interests, and expand their view on the world around them. The topics are extremely varied and some have been around for 100 years. Others have been added as the world we live in has changed. But overall, the purposes of boys earning merit badges have remained the same – personal development.

And that’s why we’re so excited to see Chess offered as a merit badge. We recognize the many facets of growth that board games, card games, and abstract games offer to individuals – especially young developing minds.

We love that this development is even one of the requirements: “Discuss with your counselor the benefits of playing chess, including developing critical thinking skills, concentration skills, and decision-making skills, and how these skills can help you in other areas of your life.”

Isn’t that great!

Check out the requirements that boys have to pass off to earn the Chess merit badge:

1. Discuss with your merit badge counselor the history of the game of chess. Explain why it is considered a game of planning and strategy.
2. Discuss with your merit badge counselor the following:
1. The benefits of playing chess, including developing critical thinking skills, concentration skills, and decision-making skills, and how these skills can help you in other areas of your life
2. Sportsmanship and chess etiquette
3. Demonstrate to your counselor that you know each of the following. Then, using Scouting’s Teaching EDGE, teach the following to a Scout who does not know how to play chess:
1. The name of each chess piece
2. How to set up a chessboard
3. How each chess piece moves, including castling and en passant captures
4. Do the following:
1. Demonstrate scorekeeping using the algebraic system of chess notation.
2. Discuss the differences between the opening, the middle game, and the endgame.
3. Explain four opening principles.
4. Explain the four rules for castling.
5. On a chessboard, demonstrate a “scholar’s mate” and a “fool’s mate.”
6. Demonstrate on a chessboard four ways a chess game can end in a draw.
5. Do the following:
1. Explain four of the following elements of chess strategy: exploiting weaknesses, force, king safety, pawn structure, space, tempo, time.
2. Explain any five of these chess tactics: clearance sacrifice, decoy, discovered attack, double attack, fork, interposing, overloading, overprotecting, pin, remove the defender, skewer, zwischenzug.
3. Set up a chessboard with the white king on e1, the white rooks on a1 and h1, and the black king on e5. With White to move first, demonstrate how to force checkmate on the black king.
4. Set up and solve five direct-mate problems provided by your merit badge counselor.
6. Do ONE of the following:
1. Play at least three games of chess with other Scouts and/or your merit badge counselor. Replay the games from your score sheets and discuss with your counselor how you might have played each game differently.
2. Play in a scholastic (youth) chess tournament and use your score sheets from that tournament to replay your games with your merit badge counselor. Discuss with your counselor how you might have played each game differently.
3. Organize and run a chess tournament with at least four players, plus you. Have each competitor play at least two games.

How many of you would love to see your boy pass this off?

You can bet that during the winter months, Chess is going to be in the plans for our scouting troop!

To see the list of all the merit badges the BSA offers, visit the BSA merit badge website.