CHESS - THE GAME OF LIFE
Jim (Sumlin@aol.com)
Chess is a game where you have to make moves and always be thinking ahead
about the possible consequences of your move. Your move will bring about
a response from your opponent. It's a great analogy to life and plays into
many of [name]'s weaknesses. It's also a fantastic visual game. By talking
him through a game of chess he'll be forced to think about:
a. The consequences of his actions.
b. How others react to his actions (he has to get into the other person's
thought process as they relate to what he just did).
c. Planning several moves ahead (impulsive moves will not win a game).
PROCEDURE
1. Play chess with [name]
2. When he makes a move he must keep his hand on the piece (so the move isn't
complete) while you ask him a series of questions like:
a. If you move there, what might I do in response?
b. Is that your best possible move?
c. What other choices do you have (did you consider?) and what would my response
be?
d. Are you sure that's your best move?
e. If he's about to make a bad move discuss the negative consequences of
the - e.g., "If you take my pawn, I'll take your bishop. Is that a good
trade?"
f. Discuss strategies - e.g., "Who's protecting your king, queen, etc.?",
"Are you protecting your _____ when you make that move?"
3. When YOU make a move ask him why he thinks you made that move.
Additional Notes Regarding Generalization Issuses
If a situation arose where somebody reacted negatively to an action of his
that was even remotely "off", we would either discretely walk him to the
sidelines or shelve a discussion with him for later. This discussion would
be a reminder that life was in many ways like chess and that he had to think
carefully about how his "moves" affected everyone around him and brought
about particular responses. We would ask the same questions that we did in
the chess drill:
1. What response did that "move" (your action) bring about?
2. Was that your best possible "move"?
3. What other choices did you have and did you consider them?
4. Are you sure that would have been your best "move"?
5. What might have been other's response to your alternate "move"?
These discussions really clicked with him and helped us sand down many rough spots in the area of perspective taking and social interactions.
Updated March 31, 2000
Author: Jim Sumlin
Editor & Publisher: Michael Shoultz
mshoultz@madison.k12.wi.us
Webmaster:
webmaster@madison.k12.wi.us