OPEN Air School together with the KZN Chess Academy, hosted the KZN provincial LSEN (Learners with Special Education Needs) U16 chess tournament on Friday to encourage the sport in LSEN schools.
KZN Chess Academy coach, Erick Takawira said the aim of the tournament was to promote and develop chess at the LSEN schools.
Dr Sheila Naidoo, educational psychologist at Open Air School and convenor for LSEN Chess in the eThekwini region was pleased to host the tournament, “It's the first tournament under the auspices of the eThekwini region who are promoting chess at LSEN schools with the aim of selecting a team to represent the province at the national Chess Champs in December where the the team will participate against able bodied schools.
Speaking about the positive spin-offs of the game especially in LSEN schools, Naidoo said, “Chess develops the mind and improves the learners' academic skills in all areas especially language and maths. Open Air recently introduced chess in education as a lesson which is part of the curriculum and has shown an improvement in maths and languages since its inception last June. Learners are already excelling against able bodied learners in the game and three of our girls qualified for the Durban and Districts team. We have also noticed a marked improvement in social skills and a boost of self confidence among learners,” she added.
Naidoo thanked coach, Eric Takawira for all his assistance with the sponsorship, mentorship and organisation involved in taking the learners to the nationals.
