Chess is for Everyone Across the Globe!

For more than a decade, ChessKid has been at the forefront of teaching millions of kids the game of chess, recognizing its impact on developing life skills such as critical thinking, risk assessment, problem solving, and more. 

But the impact of chess extends far beyond the game itself. Its transformative potential can reach beyond just the board, and into our lives. ChessKid has embraced this transformative power, recognizing that chess is for everyone, and has prioritized the use of chess as a catalyst for creating positive change on a global scale.

ChessKid President Kulsum Qasim states, "Our core mission is to grow the game and help spread the message that chess is for everyone. We work across the entire spectrum of humanity to promote chess as a tool for unity."

Here are some examples of how ChessKid has worked to advance chess for all children: 

Chess in Slums

Tunde Onakoya started an organization called Chess in Slums, a program that teaches chess to children without access to education, as a means of giving them mentorship, community, and an academic advantage. His goal was to use chess as a tool to keep children off the streets, away from violence, and as a means to keep them in school. Tunde started off with a village of 30 underprivileged children. Today, his mission has spread to thousands of kids across Africa! Many of Tunde’s students receive full academic scholarship support, all because of the game of chess. 

As a partner, ChessKid aims to bring greater resources and awareness to the initiative. Our goal is to bring more mentors, scholarships, and infrastructure for learning chess online to the children and the community of Chess In Slums. 

ChessKid School Grants 

ChessKid wants to to help schools teach students how to play chess, and for the third year, ChessKid offers its grant program for elementary students anywhere in the world. Through this program, schools can apply for a grant to receive free gold accounts and unlimited access to the ChessKid program! The program originally started during the pandemic when many chess programs were disrupted by a lack of funding and quickly expanded to include international schools. 

ChessKid has given out over 100,000 Gold memberships to dozens of schools/districts around the world, giving thousand of kids an introduction to the game of chess in a fun, engaging, and safe way.

Children with Disabilities 

In a commitment to to champion inclusivity in chess, ChessKid and Chess.com pledged $25,000 in support of the inaugural 2022 North American Cup for Children with Disabilities. The donation went toward travel expenses, trophies, and scholarships for children with disabilities.

Event organizer Kevin McConnell stated, "More than just a chess competition, this event brings together children from all walks of life and gives them the opportunity to forge lifelong friendships with other children through their shared love of chess."

The event headliner was National Master Griffin McConnell, star of the documentary, "Griffin's Gambit".

Empowering Girls through Chess 

ChessKid believes in supporting girls playing chess. That's why we've partnered with Queens United, an organization dedicated to increasing female representation and raising awareness and support for girls of all ages. Queens United uses ChessKid's curriculum and platform for their Girl Power Club, and ChessKid provides Gold memberships for all club members.

ChessKid also hosts girls only tournaments to increase participation and encourage girls to compete in a positive and supportive environment. In 2022, ChessKid partnered with FIDE to hold the first ever FIDE & ChessKid Unrated Girls Only Tournament. The event was completely free and all participants were invited to participate in a complimentary mini camp with top women grandmasters.

ChessKid4Peace 

To raise money for children impacted by the war in Ukraine, ChessKid organized the tournament ChessKid4Peace. The event was split into the early and late editions, and viewers donated money to support the cause during the broadcasts.

We also gave Ukrainian and Ukrainian-speaking children access to our educational and fun lessons, which were narrated by GM Anna Muzychuk, a three-time world champion and one of Ukraine's most famous chess players.

The Gift of Chess 

Impact Coaching Network's (ICN) founder, Russell Makofsky, started a non-profit organization called The Gift of Chess, with the goal being to give away technology (through ChessKid memberships) and chess sets to elementary school students. Their goal is to gift 10,000 chess sets and 10,000 ChessKid memberships to students in New York city public schools. To date, they have gifted 6,000 chess sets!

These are just a few examples that highlight the positive impact that ChessKid has made through the game of chess. As a company, we will continue to change the world through chess, because we believe that Chess is for Everyone!