NYC parents are seeking leveling of the arena between chess kids and student-athletes.
The high school citywide council on Wednesday called on public school athletic leagues to recognize chess as a sport.
PSAL currently oversees 25 sports at city high schools, ranging from soccer, basketball and baseball to soccer, table tennis and double Holland.
However, the King's Game 1,500 years ago is not recognized.
“There's an incredible community of students who are eager to play chess, and there are families who support it and have teams in every school,” said CCHS member Ben Morden, who co-hosted Wednesday's resolution.
Although chess has become more popular since the pandemic, he argued that opportunities for high school students have declined.
The Big Apple is no longer home to major chess competitions held in the past.
Compared to 1,800 primary school-age athletes, only 200 people participated in recent state competitions.
The resolution passed by 8-1 vote cited studies promoting the benefits of chess in the classroom, including critical thinking, strategic planning, problem solving, and the development of neuroplasticity (brain adaptive ability).
“The game completely changed my daughter's life and improved her academic performance and focus,” PS 11 mom Tara Murphy told the conference.
“My young girl in kindergarten struggled with attention until she started playing chess. Her teacher noticed an incredible change.”
And the game welcomes all corners, she added.
“My daughters have been competing with blind children, with children in wheelchairs,” Murphy said.
“My daughter played next to a child who had an endotracheal tube the other day, and this weekend we played against kids who just spoke French from Canada and were able to communicate.”
NYC has young chess geniuses, including Tania de Umi, a Nigerian refugee who won the state championship at the age of nine, and Marian Gel Vargas, who won an international rating of 1,300 just two years after his family fled Colombia.
Chess is certainly a team sport, said Russell Makovsky, who coached both children.
“When we engage high school kids, we give them something to play all the chess games and keep caring, learning incredible life lessons to our elementary school kids,” Makovsky told the council.
Not everyone is taking part in petitioning PSAL to offer chess.
“I agree that chess is competitive and requires strategy, but it offers that it's not a sport,” claimed CCHS member Lisa Stowe.
“If you call chess a sport and have PSAL sponsored chess, I think they should sponsor esports and video games.”
Recommendations go to the city's Department of Education and PSAL leadership.
