LAS VEGAS, Dec. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Writing in the New York Times in her 2005 Op-Ed, All the Right Moves, 2-time United States chess champion Jennifer Shahade discussed the difficulty facing chess education in America. 10 years later, the U.S. chess champion has teamed up with a group of math educators and engineers from MIT, Caltech, Stanford and Vanderbilt University, to create a math learning aid that will inspire kids to excel in both math and chess education. That new STEM product is called Yamie Chess, and it's launching at Toy Fair 2014 (Booth #5954).
With an early recommendation from International Master Jeremy Silman, the Harry Potter chess consultant on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Yamie Chess is designed to supplement math learning in the classroom, through an engaging cartoon sci-fantasy where each comic character represents a chess piece.
Aligned to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics "Curriculum Focal Points," Yamie Chess features an interactive math comic for coloring and classic chess set designed for little hands, teaching kids math problem solving and critical thinking skills for number sense, algebra, geometry, data analysis and measurement learning. Yamie Chess is made in America with EPI Printers Inc, in Battle Creek, Michigan, and based on the Johns Hopkins University selected animation, King Tigermore In Strawberry Fields.
"Research has shown that, by itself, learning to play chess is tied to better logical reasoning and stronger performance in math. Yamie Chess adds to this by integrating both mathematical content and math puzzles into the text. I expect children of all ages will find it inspiring and interesting. I strongly recommend it," explained Massachusetts Institute of Technology mathematics PhD, Professor Michael Ching, who is a math professor at Amherst College and wrote a full review of the product on Yamie Chess Ltd's website at yamiechess.com/MIT.
University of Chicago Mathematics PhD, Professor Ashley Ahlin, a senior lecturer at Vanderbilt University, writing on Yamie Chess Ltd's website, describes how she successfully play tested the math product as a stay-at-home mom for math learning: "My own children (ages 7 and 9) were very interested in the book; they reported that both the story and the chess game were very exciting. While reading through the book, chess became one of their favorite activities, as they traced the game played out in the book, as well as playing their own games with tactics they read about. They also enjoyed solving the math problems as they worked through the text." (Read review at yamiechess.com/uchicago)
2-time USA chess champion Jennifer Shahade, who is the editor of the United States Chess Federation (uschess.org), will be undertaking a historic chess simul tournament in Indianapolis in August 2014 at Gen Con, where 50 children from the Boy and Girl Scouts of America will play the 2-time United States chess champion, a first in Gen Con's 40 year history.
"I am thrilled to attend Gen Con to give a children's simul to Scouts. The cross-disciplinary skills fostered in scouts aligns with the Yamie Chess spirit, a blend of storytelling, chess and math that keeps learning fun and engaging. I'm also proud to bring chess to Gen Con via Yamie Chess. Chess is an ancient game (the rules have not changed since the 16th century) with millions of aficionados. This unique Yamie Chess simul is the perfect way to showcase chess in such a prestigious festival of strategy games. See you in Indiana!" remarked Women's Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade.
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