Slovas Chess Programmes

Slovas Chess has been active with other companies to establish sustainable CSI projects.

Chess For Schools
Slovas Chess is proud to have worked with various companies through Inspired Chess Foundation (NPC) to facilitate and administer Chess For Schools. The programme is aimed at schools in and around Thembisa. Currently we have our chess programmes in five primary schools and three secondary schools in Thembisa. We believe that by giving the youth the opportunity to exhibit their talent we are making a difference in the world. Our programme aspires to help the youth achieve their full potential by equipping them with skills that enable them to lead a life founded on good principles and discipline, brought by goal oriented sportsmanship. We have designed our chess programmes to suit the needs of the young minds.

School Chess Goals

1. To nurture talent in the youth
2. To create a platform for talent exhibition
3. To give skilled chess players opportunities to further their skills by exposing them to national tournaments
4. To improve schools’ sports facilities in disadvantaged areas.
5. To increase the chances of student players to have sports scholarships.

Community Chess Moves
We are proud to be one of the few companies that work in the townships to develop sports facilities to the less acknowledged parts of our country.
Community Chess Moves was initiated to develop chess clubs in communities that do not have enough chess activities.
Our course in this programme is to develop chess clubs that nurture future world class chess players and grow the talent of the children and the youth.
Through Community Chess Moves we established Lesedi Chess Club and Siyazigabisa Chess Club, a chess club in Siyazigabisa Home of Hope orphanage.

Community Chess Goals

1. To have a sustainable sports development programme in the community
2. To create employment for vendors who sell at community chess events.
3. To provide an activity that will keep the youth active and stay away from drugs.
4. To improve sports facilities in communities.

Senior Citizen’s Chess
Chess has a positive effect on our senior citizens and old age people. Chess is effective in reducing the rate of Alzheimer’s disease and slows down dementia. We have volunteered in Tembisa Old Age Home to provide chess for the old age home. We have also noticed that most old age homes do not have recreational activities. This is due to some senior citizens being on wheelchairs thus making them physically inactive. Chess is a sedentary activity and is ideal for senior citizens.

Benefits of Chess

Chess has many benefits that can lead a person to have a better life. The worth of chess towards an individual’s prosperity and welfare is evident in the benefits it gives to chess players.

(a) Benefits of chess on health
(1)Reduces the rate of Alzheimer’s disease - Neurologist have recommended playing mind sports to help older adults improve cognitive performance. Chess is a perfect mind sport given that it is nonbiased and can be played by people of all ages. Chess is highly effective in improving cognition. (2) Slows down dementia - There is no known way to prevent dementia. However, stimulating the mind with chess increases the number and strength of connections between the brain cells, which can potentially reduce the risk of dementia.

(b) Benefits of chess on the brain

1. Improve IQ - Improving Intelligence Quotient requires your working memory. Chess can bring about patterns within the game. As one usually recognizes patterns in the game of chess, it strengthens your ability to recognize patterns in general.
2. Both sides of the brain are exercised - By leading a chess player to use his/her analytical and visualization skills. The visualization skill is used when one must assess the range of piece's move, engaging the right side of the brain. Analyzing the possibilities on the board and those of your opponent, one is engaging the left side.
3. Increase creativity - One way to promote the development of creativity is through recognizing patterns in what we observe. Chess presents a variety of positions that use a person’s imagination.
4. Improve memory - Because of the complex rules one has to remember, as well as the memory recall needed when trying to avoid previous mistakes or remembering a certain opponent’s playing style. Chess players usually have exceptional memory performance and recall.
5. Expands dendrites - With more dendrites, neural communication within the brain improves and becomes faster. Think of your brain like a computer processor. The tree-like branches of dendrites fire signals that communicate to other neurons, which makes that computer processor operate at a fast, optimal state.

(c.) Benefits of chess on education

1. Increase problem solving skills - in every chess game, players are faced with challenges and problems that they have to solve in order to play their best game.  The complexity of chess gives one the opportunity to weigh options and seek alternative solutions to problems.
2. Improve reading skills - with the skill of recognising patterns and combinations that are brought by the dynamics of chess, players turn to be quick to recognise patterns that make sentences and punctuations.
3. Improve concentration - Chess players are taught the benefits of observing carefully and focusing. If they don't watch what is happening, they can't respond to it, no matter how smart they are. This becomes a tool they use in many aspects of their lives.

(d) Benefits of chess on social life

1. Family bonding - Chess is one of the few games that can cater for the whole family since it can be played by a toddler and a senior person on the same board. This flexibility makes it an ideal activity in family events such as parties and weddings.
2. (2) Socialising activity - Chess is a game that you can play while having a good conversation with the person you are playing with. As a result, chess has brought people together from different backgrounds over a common bond and passion for the game.
3. (3) Having a new hobby - Chess can be taken as a regular activity done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time and not professionally. The hobbyist will find a sense of belonging in the chess community and accomplishment when they win amateur tournaments.
4. (4) Way to meet new people - During individual chess tournaments the chess player will be able to meet with different kinds of people. Individuals who are interested in chess will join chess clubs and meet new people.

(e.) Benefits of chess to children

1. (1) Teaches planning ahead - Our chess prodigies are taught to develop longer range goals and take steps toward bringing them about. They are also taught of the need to re-evaluate their plans as new developments change the situation.
2. (2) Improves academic performance - Due to their ability to concentrate for a long period. Chess players turn to have a high level of mental endurance in the classroom during lessons and their concentration levels remain higher relative to non-chess players.
3. (3) Increase analytical skills - School chess players learn to evaluate the results of specific actions and sequences. Decisions are better when guided by logic, rather than impulse.