[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12869-12870]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           NATIONAL CHESS DAY

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent to proceed to S. Res. 255.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 255) designating October 8, 2011, as 
     ``National Chess Day'' to enhance awareness and encourage 
     students and

[[Page 12870]]

     adults to engage in a game known to enhance critical thinking 
     and problem-solving skills.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr ROCKEFELLER: Mr. President, I rise today in support of this 
resolution to designate National Chess Day as October 8, 2011. I 
greatly appreciate the support of my colleague, Senator Lamar Alexander 
of Tennessee.
  National Chess Day is designed to enhance awareness and encourage 
students and adults to engage in a game known to enhance critical 
thinking and problem-solving skills.
  There are 76,000 members of the Chess Federation and half of them are 
students. Studies indicate that chess programs can help with students 
improving in math and reading. Engaging students in such activities can 
make learning fun and help them develop a lifelong pastime to engage 
their skills.
  Engaging students in chess is a wonderful opportunity to promote 
education, and I hope as school begins in a few weeks, more students 
will join the Chess Federation and learn this historical game.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, 
the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements 
relating to this matter be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 255) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 255

       Whereas there are more than 76,000 members of the United 
     States Chess Federation (referred to in this preamble as the 
     ``Federation''), and unknown numbers of additional people in 
     the United States who play the game without joining an 
     official organization;
       Whereas approximately \1/2\ of the members of the 
     Federation are scholastic members, and many of the scholastic 
     members join by the age of 10;
       Whereas the Federation is very supportive of the scholastic 
     programs and sponsors a Certified Chess Coach program that 
     provides the coaches involved in the scholastic programs 
     training and ensures schools and students can have confidence 
     in the programs;
       Whereas many studies have linked chess programs to the 
     improvement of student scores in reading and math, as well as 
     improved self-esteem;
       Whereas the Federation offers a school curriculum to 
     educators to help incorporate chess into the school 
     curriculum;
       Whereas chess is a powerful cognitive learning tool that 
     can be used to successfully enhance reading and math 
     concepts; and
       Whereas chess engages students of all learning styles and 
     strengths and promotes problem-solving and higher-level 
     thinking skills: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates October 8, 2011, as ``National Chess Day''; 
     and
       (2) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
     ``National Chess Day'' with appropriate programs and 
     activities.

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