Bob Patterson-Sumwalt, founder and president of the Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Federation, began teaching chess 12 years ago in the Denver area. Since then, he has come to believe that there is "no other experience that has a more profound effect on developing children's minds than chess." The game, says Patterson-Sumwalt, "provides intellectual stimulation, teaches critical and spatial thinking, promotes self-discipline, and reinforces the importance of the consequences of one's actions."
It was while working as a math teacher in a Denver high school that Patterson-Sumwalt first got involved in scholastic chess. There, he started a chess club and took a team of students to the USCF's National High School Championships, where it placed sixth. He also taught chess in the nearby Cherry Creek School District's gifted and talented program and organized a chess club at Cherry Creek Elementary School. Patterson-Sumwalt organized the Cherry Creek Elementary School Chess League, where students from seven area schools had a chance to play against each other.
In 1999, Patterson-Sumwalt, who holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and Cardinal Stritch University, moved with his family to Kansas, where he taught math and started a chess club at Bonner Springs High School. His students went on to win the Class 5A state-level chess championships in 2001 and 2002. It was while in Kansas, where scholastic chess is very popular and well organized, that Patterson-Sumwalt learned to run tournaments.
He brought that knowledge with him when he moved to Wisconsin in 2004. "What an opportunity," says Patterson-Sumwalt. "I knew what could be done here in terms of scholastic chess. And I knew how to make it happen."
Patterson-Sumwalt, who teaches in the Milwaukee Public Schools, began by organizing a chess club at his sons' school -- Donges Bay Elementary in Mequon. He convinced other parents to get involved, held a tournament that attracted 87 players, and started helping other area schools organize their own clubs. In 2004, Patterson-Sumwalt founded MASCA (Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Federation) as a way of promoting scholastic chess throughout the Milwaukee area and beyond. The group runs a chess school and helps local clubs put on tournaments that draw up to 160 participants. In 2006, due to the growth and popularity of the organization and to better reflect the scope of their goals, the name was changed to the Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Federation (WSCF).
Meanwhile, Patterson-Sumwalt continues to believe in the long-term benefits of learning and playing chess. "The lessons learned in chess can be applied every day, and can go a long way toward helping students chart their way though life," he says.
Patterson-Sumwalt lives in Mequon with his wife, Susan, senior pastor at Whitefish Bay United Methodist Church, and their three children.
Monday June 30th, 2008