πΊοΈ Grid Coordinates & 2D Arrays: Drop-In Chess + iCode! βοΈπ»
Event: Kids & Teens: Drop-In Chess Sessions
When: Saturday, June 13, 2026, 3:00 PM β 4:00 PM (Drop-in!)
Where: Princeton Public Library β Story Room (65 Witherspoon St, Princeton, NJ)
Event link: Princeton Library Events
Who itβs for: Youth in Grades 2β6 (Beginners & Intermediate)
Why we love it π Every time you move a chess piece, you are navigating a mathematical grid! The Princeton Public Library is hosting a fantastic, drop-in summer chess session led by volunteers from Impact Chess. Elementary and middle schoolers will get to play against peers while learning the foundational strategies of the game. We absolutely love chess because players have to learn “algebraic notation” (like moving a knight to f3)βwhich is a masterclass in spatial reasoning and grid navigation!
How this event aligns with iCode Princeton πβοΈ Navigating a chessboard uses the exact same logic as programming 2D Arrays and X/Y Coordinates!
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Coordinate Mapping (X/Y Axes): In chess, the board is labeled with letters (columns) and numbers (rows). In computer science, this is exactly how a digital screen works! In our Scratch and STEAM Junior Tracks, we teach kids how to use X and Y coordinates to tell their digital characters exactly where to move, jump, and teleport on the screen.
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2D Arrays & Matrices: How does a computer actually remember where all the chess pieces are? It uses a “2D Array”βwhich is essentially a digital grid made of rows and columns. In our advanced Python and Java Tracks, we teach older students how to code these data structures so they can build their own grid-based puzzle and strategy games from scratch!
Join the fun, then keep the momentum going at iCode ππ Master the grid at the library, then bring that world-class logic to iCode Princeton where we teach you how to code it!
π Explore iCode Princeton: https://icodeschool.com/princeton-nj
π£ Progression-based Belts (Kβ12): https://icodeschool.com/princeton-nj/belts/
π See whatβs running now: https://icodeschool.com/princeton-nj/activity-finder/
ποΈ Ready to build the future? Book a Free Trial Class: https://icodeschool.com/princeton-nj/book-a-free-trial-class/
