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Date: 21 Jun 2008 14:24:42
From: samsloan
Subject: "Knights of the South Bronx", is it true?
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I just saw the movie "Knights of the South Bronx" on video. It is a
great movie and good for chess.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0471768/
But, is it true?
It claims that an inner city team from a public school in the South
Bronx won the national scholastic championship in Dallas. Did this
really happen?
This is advertised as a true story based on the founding of "Chess in
the Schools" by David MacEnulty.
There is a person named David MacEnulty, but he has a USCF provisional
rating of Class-C. The person depicted in the movie is a master-
strength player who gives a simultaneous exhibition and wins all 14
games.
http://www.uschess.org/msa/MbrDtlMain.php?12544466
Apparently, David MacEnulty worked for a time with Chess-in-the-
Schools but he certainly did not found it.
Near the end of the movie, there is a scene where the board is set up
wrong with a black-colored square in the right corner.
I guess I should not nit-pick and just be happy that a movie like this
was made, which certainly benefits chess.
Sam Sloan
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Date: 21 Jun 2008 23:36:04
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: "Knights of the South Bronx", is it true?
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--- "Myron and Rachel" wrote:
>
> Yes, Sam, David MacEnulty and the Knights of the South Bronx really exist. Was the movie "dramatized"? Of course. What movie isn't?
>
> Is the movie available on DVD to the general public? If so, where? We saw it on TV and wanted to get it at the time. We have been trying on and off for years.
>
> We, along with several representatives of the CDC, had the opportunity to visit David MacEnulty when he was teaching chess to Kindergarten students in the South Bronx about ten years ago. It was remarkable. We had several representatives of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with us to observe him the day before attending a Chessathon in New York. A summary can probably be found in the USCF Outreach Report from 1997 or 1998.
>
> The most remarkable thing was that the Kindergarteners listened and participated. He maintained their attention. While he didn't say he was doing this, he taught geometry and other math and logic concepts in the process. The kids loved the chess class but couldn't have cared less if he was talking about triangulation. He went straight to the ideas without giving them names. After the class several of the students indicated they would love a chess class in a summer session and would attend. When was the last time you saw a Kindergarten age child, especially in an underprivileged part of town, want to go to school in the summer?
>
> He is living proof that understanding chess and how to teach it can be more important than rating when it comes to effectively communicating chess ideas to young students. While it is true the movie was dramatized, he impressed us much more with his handling of his Kindergarten class than anything mentioned in the movie.
>
> Having said that, it is a great movie and should be used as a resource for all who are involved teaching chess to children, including parents.
> Myron and Rachel Lieberman
Yes. "Knights of the South Bronx" is available on DVD for only $12.99
plus $2.98 shipping at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UJBYBK
I bought a used copy there for only $8.51 including shipping.
Funny thing: My daughter Sandra, age 6, goes to elementary school in
the South Bronx at PS199 but I cannot get the principal of her school
interested in starting a chess program. I have approached the
Principal several times and she absolutely rejects the idea.
Sam Sloan
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Date: 21 Jun 2008 23:17:30
From: help bot
Subject: Re: "Knights of the South Bronx", is it true?
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samsloan wrote:
> I just saw the movie "Knights of the South Bronx" on video. It is a
> great movie and good for chess.
>
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0471768/
It's amazing how *dramatically different* are the
reviews and descriptions of this movie. In addition
to three very different takes at the above link, we
get still another from the Larry Evans' archive
(which described it as "a true story"). The
various descriptions are so different that it is hard
to believe they are describing the same movie.
-- help bot
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Date: 21 Jun 2008 21:34:00
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: "Knights of the South Bronx", is it true?
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--- In [email protected], "Myron and Rachel"
<myronandrachel@... > wrote:
>
> Yes, Sam, David MacEnulty and the Knights of the South Bronx really exist.
> Was the movie "dramatized"? Of course. What movie isn't?
>
> Is the movie available on DVD to the general public? If so, where? We saw it
> on TV and wanted to get it at the time. We have been trying on and off for
> years.
>
> Myron and Rachel Lieberman
Yes. "Knights of the South Bronx" is available on DVD for only $12.99
plus $2.98 shipping at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UJBYBK
I bought a used copy there for only $8.51 including shipping.
Funny thing: My daughter Sandra, age 6, goes to elementary school in
the South Bronx at PS199 but I cannot get the principal of her school
interested in starting a chess program. I have approached her several
times and she absolutely rejects the idea.
Sam Sloan
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Date: 21 Jun 2008 18:52:33
From: SAT W-7
Subject: Re: "Knights of the South Bronx", is it true?
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Yes that was a good movie ....
At the end i like the way it told what the kids did in the their
future so i hope that part was true too.....
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Date: 21 Jun 2008 16:53:30
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: "Knights of the South Bronx", is it true?
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EVANS ON CHESS
Reprinted courtesy of Chesstours (c)
TEAM COACH BARRED
Knights of the South Bronx, a TV movie starring Ted Danson, made
its world premiere on the A&E network in December 2005. It=92s a true
story about one man=92s struggle to improve the lives of poor kids from
an inner-city school by teaching them chess.
His students were inspired, but the principal was wary because
Danson didn=92t follow the lesson plan. He put math problems on the
blackboard and declared there would be no chess until the kids solved
them. They scrambled to do so, using their new chess skills.
It=92s soon clear that chess is making a huge difference. Test scores
and grades are higher, attendance is better. When the kids learn they
can compete in tournaments for prizes and trophies, just like other
sports, they work even harder to earn the chance to compete at the
Nationals in Dallas, Texas.
The registration fee is $75 per kid, plus airfare. There's no way
the school can afford it, so they held a bake sale and alerted the
media. Hundreds came, money was raised, and the team triumphed over
private schools from across the entire nation.
Flash Forward to 2007
"December 4, 2007 -- The Education Department is letting stand a
Bronx principal's decision to bar her chess team's coach from
traveling to this week's national championships in Houston. PS 70
Principal Kerry Castellano won=92t say why she wants to bar longtime
coordinator Jonathan Alejandro." -- The New York Post
Alejandro is the subject of an ongoing probe by the Special
Commissioner and blames clashes with the principal on his role as a
union leader. "She claims we have too many differences, but what does
it have to do with chess? It=92s a disgrace. This is sick. They're
trying to sabotage me," he said.
Parents of 10 of the 13 team members backed the coach and staged
an early-morning protest in front of the elementary school. In the end
they chose principle over principal by not sending their kids to the
K-12 Scholastic Nationals from December 7-9, 2007 in Houston where 14
new champions were crowned in various age groups.
"We only want to go if Mr. Alejandro goes," said 9-year-old Emely
Herasme who stayed home.
samsloan wrote:
> I just saw the movie "Knights of the South Bronx" on video. It is a
> great movie and good for chess.
>
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0471768/
>
> But, is it true?
>
> It claims that an inner city team from a public school in the South
> Bronx won the national scholastic championship in Dallas. Did this
> really happen?
>
> This is advertised as a true story based on the founding of "Chess in
> the Schools" by David MacEnulty.
>
> There is a person named David MacEnulty, but he has a USCF provisional
> rating of Class-C. The person depicted in the movie is a master-
> strength player who gives a simultaneous exhibition and wins all 14
> games.
>
> http://www.uschess.org/msa/MbrDtlMain.php?12544466
>
> Apparently, David MacEnulty worked for a time with Chess-in-the-
> Schools but he certainly did not found it.
>
> Near the end of the movie, there is a scene where the board is set up
> wrong with a black-colored square in the right corner.
>
> I guess I should not nit-pick and just be happy that a movie like this
> was made, which certainly benefits chess.
>
> Sam Sloan
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