Your metaphor makes sense, but I'd argue programming is more aligned with subjects like say physics, where you need to give at least a basic understanding of th

Your metaphor makes sense, but I'd argue programming is more aligned with subjects like say physics, where you need to give at least a basic understanding of the fundamentals. I mean this in opposition to the more optional side of chess club. Sure we don't expect all participants to become outstanding engineers in either physics or programming but I'd argue it'd be a good thing to require at least some level of understanding of the underlying "sciencey" (or engineering) qualities.