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School ActivitiesChess        
Ms Cronin writes: Chess has been a hobby of mine for a long, long time (since I was a teenager!). I’ve always been interested in coaching as well as playing – I started with my unfortunate younger brother and sisters, then ran classes in my secondary school for the younger students; when I was at university, I ran a junior chess club on the north side of Dublin. I enjoyed that so much it convinced me to do primary school teaching. When I got my first job I set up a school chess club immediately, and then when I came to St Catherine’s nearly 13 years ago, I continued my master plan – getting kids hooked on chess! We play every Friday afternoon for about forty minutes, and this session is open to everyone in the school from first class up. I teach the children the rules in their first few weeks in first class, so they get an early start on the road to being a grandmaster! We have ladder competitions in the first and second term, and then school and class championships from April to June. On Mondays after school is the serious stuff – chess coaching for the top players in the school and any improving younger players. In this hour the mysteries of Scholar’s Mate, the Copy-cat trap, the Fried Liver Attack and the Danish Gambit are introduced. We also play “Guess the Next Move” in which I show a grandmaster game on the demonstration board and the students have to guess what the expert played in each position. We have a school team that takes part in the Leinster Schools Championship, the National Checkmate competition and the ChessZ League. Last year we came third in the Leinster Championship, fifth in the Chess Z League and qualified for the final of the National Checkmate. (Unfortunately the final took place the week of our mid-term break and too many of our players were away for us to take part.) Our team was unbeaten throughout the whole year - in the semi-final of the Leinster League, we drew against the eventual winners but lost on tie-break!! Well done to Richard Walshe, Eric Whye, Killian Honer, Sol Bell-Megaw, Keelin O'Shea and Oscar Milne for some great play during the year, and also to our girls team of Keelin O'Shea, Eva Layte, Ruby Guy and Amy Tala for doing so well in the Chess Z Girls' League - Dublin Champions, no less. This year I have a record number of children attending chess coaching and I'm sure that even greater honours lie ahead. Best of luck to this year's club and teams. I think chess is an ideal hobby for a school as it helps kids learn to concentrate, to plan ahead and to win and lose gracefully. The equipment is cheap and it can be played indoors on a rainy lunch-break. Above all, it’s fun!
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