By Roberta Bienenfeld
Special to Alzheimer's Weekly
Week of Sept. 16 - Sept. 22  Who is that silver knight fighting Alzheimer's, armed with a chess board?
It is Patrick Ellis, 52 year old former landscape designer, founder and president of the Silver Knights, a group of volunteers dedicated to preventing Alzheimer's disease by teaching chess to the elderly. Week after week, carrying a chess board, flash cards and detailed lesson plans, Patrick Ellis travels many miles in his 1996 Nissan Sentra from nursing home to nursing home. His aim: Helping people by getting them to use their brains instead of sitting before a TV set all day long. Ellis quotes research that shows that adults who “exercise” their minds regularly, such as people who play chess daily, are 60% less likely to get Alzheimer's disease than those who are idle, such as those who just watch TV. (Click here for article with details and sources.) "If you exercise your brain, then you're also resistant to the effects of dementiating illnesses, such as Alzheimers," says Professor Joe Verghese of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, in a report on ABC News about the benefits of chess to Alzheimer patients. It all began when surgery and later, a muscular disease, prevented Ellis from continuing with his day job. To fill his hours, he contacted the Chess Emporium in North Phoenix and in the fall of 2006, found himself teaching chess in 5 different elementary schools. While working for the Chess Emporium, he wrote the Coaches Training Manual which is now used to teach thousands of students each year. But teaching the young was very strenuous and he needed to find students that were "easier to keep up with." "I thought about how one day I may be in a nursing home, and how sad it would be if I could not find someone to play chess with," remembers Ellis. Seniors became his next target. Ellis first began playing chess as a teenager and competed in numerous tournaments. As a young man, he earned an impressive United States Chess Federation rating of 1700. "I learned it like most people learn chess," he said, "by playing it." And that is what he teaches his students. He can teach you the rules but you can only really learn the game by playing and playing. "At first, my motivation behind the idea of teaching chess to the elderly was just to make their day a little happier," says Ellis. "When I learned that it was a practical cure for the disease, the hobby took on more of a vision, a necessity, and its importance became obvious." Ellis recalls his first contact teaching seniors. Knocking on the door of the Dream Weaver Nursing Home, he was greeted by caregiver and owner, Gaile. She told him that he had three students - Rita, Warren (known as "The Colonel") and Art. "With the help of the caregivers, I sat them around a card table," remembers Ellis, "and I began by telling them about myself and why I was there to teach them chess; how it reduced their chance of getting Alzheimer's by 60 percent and how much fun it is. "I told them how the class worked, that I would be coming back every week at the same time for a year and that there would be 52 lessons. I told them a chess joke and they laughed. I asked them their names and spent time getting to know them as I felt that that was important. "I then handed out the ‘Lesson One’ flier and reviewed the ideas, asking them if they understood. I realized that, unfortunately, the Colonel could not remember anything for more than a few minutes. Rita caught right on. Art could remember but didn't seem to enjoy something new. "Gaile was watching me teach and decided that she wanted to learn how to play, too. I felt that was great so that Rita would have someone to play with, but I hoped that Warren would see how much fun it is and join in the learning process." Ellis loves his students. "Who can't love people who meet you with a smile and enjoy seeing you every time you come," he says. "There is a twinkle of excitement in their eyes. They are all smiles most of the time. The caregivers also really look forward to seeing me too. They joke around with me and tell me what the students have been up to during the week." There are two requirements needed for learning how to play chess, according to Ellis. The first is: wanting to learn to play. The second is: the ability to learn and the ability to move information from short term memory to long term memory. Ellis loves the creativity and the uniqueness of each position in chess. It is this excitement that he passes on to his pupils. Volunteers from the Silver Knights, can be found teaching chess in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, senior centers and private homes. They provide a one-year program (52 lessons) which covers the rules, principles, tactics, endgames, checkmates, openings and strategies.
During the year, students are awarded 6 framed certificates for 6 learning levels: Pawn for chess rules; Bishop for chess principles; Knight for basic tactics; Rook for basic endgames; Queen for basic openings; King for chess strategies and finally a Graduation Certificate. Trophies, medals, books and unique chess sets are also won along the way.
"Silver Knights are trained to entertain as well as teach," says Ellis. "We tell jokes and amusing chess stories. We get them laughing and feel free to be silly. Chess has the aura of being serious and only for the studious egghead. We destroy that idea." Ellis is currently looking for people nationwide to join the organization. "We provide the documents and the training," he says. "All volunteers need to do is know how to play chess and have patience and love for seniors. "This year 438,000 Americans will be told they have Alzheimer's disease," adds Ellis. "If we can get all these people to play chess before this horrible news is given to them, it is estimated that we could save the lives of 262,800 people. This is a cause worthy of support."
While the numbers are important to Ellis, he feels the disease on a more personal level. "These dear people are not just 'the elderly'," he says. "They are your mothers and fathers, your husbands and wives, your grandmothers and grandfathers. They are the ones you love. "For you and me, chess is just a fun game," he explains further, "but for the senior who is faced with the possibility of contracting Alzheimer's disease, chess is literally a matter of life and death. If you are 65 years old you have a 10 percent chance of contracting Alzheimer's disease. If you happen to be one of those unlucky 10 percent, you have a 100 percent chance of getting the disease. If you play chess, that 100 percent death sentence drops to a 40 percent chance of contracting Alzheimer's."
The Silver Knights recognize that there are other benefits to playing chess—adding a little excitement and socialization to the days spent mainly in front of the television set. "We have personally seen the excitement that fills a facility on chess day," he says. "We see seniors have a smile on their face and a gleam in their eye as we set up the demonstration board and the sets are brought out." Patrick Ellis' dreams are simple. He would like his organization to grow nationwide and he would like to have the supplies so sorely needed--chessboards, chess books, ink and trophies. "If by Christmas I could get the money I need for materials, find someone to print the custom chess boards I designed for the visually impaired to sell on our website to help seniors all over the world, that would be nice," he says. "And if we could get a few more states with Silver Knights organized by Christmas ... that is what I would wish." Is all that work and running around worth it? "I feel like I am actually saving lives! A lot of people just doing a little can move mountains! And preventing Alzheimer's is a mighty big mountain," says knight errant Patrick Ellis. More Information: Website for The Silver Knights: www.TheSilverKnights.org
Silver Knights online store: All proceeds go towards supporting the Silver Knights Charity
Related Articles at Alzheimer's Weekly: Sharpening Your Wits Could Outwit Alzheimer's Full Social Lives Ease Alzheimer's Damage Brain-Training Keeps Age-Linked Mental Decline at Bay
Other articles about chess lowering the risk of Alzheimer's: http://www.isracast.com/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=9 http://raychess.blogspot.com/2007/07/chess-prevents-alzheimers.html http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=142331444&blogID=214482190 http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2001-03-05-alzheimers-hobbies.htm
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