– Where : Mulligan Columbus Chess Club
– Address: Panera Bread, 875 Bethel Road, Columbus, OH
– Dates: Saturday August 9th and Saturday August 23rd
– Time: 1:00 – 2:30
Below are Harvey’s notes on ChessMath.
ChessMath
I will give two 90 minute talks focusing on the 8 x 8 chess board. These lectures will be given at 1 PM on August 9 and August 23 at the Mulligan chess club. It’s at the Panera Bread on Bethel Road near MicroCenter. There is a considerable body of elementary mathematics of great educational value leading up to the main ongoing ChessMath research projects. The first ChessMath lectures will be confined to this lead up material.
In the first two lectures covering the lead up material, I discuss the precise mathematical treatment of:
1. The 8 x 8 chess squares.
2. Ranks, files, diagonals.
3. Knight moves.
4. Symmetries.
5. Counting very simple positions.
Any student comfortable with:
i. The chess board and how the pieces move; and
ii. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; and
iii. Sets and set notation; and
iv. The use of letters for unknowns (as in elementary algebra).
should be able to understand enough of these two lectures to justify attendance. Generally speaking, strong math students grades 5-12 should find this accessible and challenging. Of course, any *unusually* strong K-4 student is welcome.
1. CHESS BOARD MATHEMATICS 1
2. CHESS BOARD MATHEMATICS 2
The ways in which aspects of chess are mathematized serve as an introduction to the ways in which many concepts from science and engineering are mathematized. Such mathematical treatments are crucial for computerizations.
The creative leveraging of chess experience to advanced mathematical development in K-12 is an ongoing process in its early stages. I should learn a lot about how to proceed at various grade levels based on feedback from students and parents.