Chess Rocks! Chess as a Force for Good

NOTE TO READER: Occasionally, I'll write an update to let you know what's going on here at ChessKid from my perspective. Enjoy!

Chess Rocks!

Why is chess important?

For millions of kids around the world, chess is more than just a game. It's a way for them to build sportsmanship, character and logical thinking. But for other kids, it's even more.  

When Phiona Mutesi was nine, she showed up at a sports outreach program hoping to get some free porridge. Instead, she learned how to play chess, showed a knack for it, had a book written about her, and earned enough money to buy land for her family. Disney even made a movie about her. For her, chess was a way out of poverty. 

Our family met Phiona in California during at an outdoor chess festival. 

Young Tanitoluwa "Tani" Adewumi's story is just as inspirational. He and his family fled Nigeria when he was seven years old. At the time he was introduced to chess, Tani and his family were living in a homeless shelter. Despite the odds, Tani won the NY State Championship for his age group, where he competed against scores of talented youngsters. His story was so amazing, that former President Bill Clinton invited him to meet! 

Tani has no fear. He takes on super grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.

Accessibility is important!

A few years ago, we at ChessKid decided that it was really important for us to help inspire the next generation of young chess players. So we started talking to school districts around the country to help spread our love of the game. We enlisted the help of world class teachers like Elizabeth Spiegel, who teaches at IS318 in New York. She helped us put together a Classroom Planner that's used in classrooms everywhere. 

Elizabeth teaches at IS318 in New York

You talked, we listened!

Throughout the years, we've made a conscious effort to take feedback from our users. Kids loved puzzles, so we built Puzzle Duel. They also loved our hilarious videos, and so we've pushed dozens of new videos and nearly a hundred video tips by our very own Funmaster Mike. Parents mention to us that they really enjoy laughing and bonding with their kids as they watch together. 

Kids told us they wanted to see more of Funmaster Mike. And we listened! 

Maybe you can figure out how to confuse Funmaster Mike!

While millions of kids across the globe continue to shelter in place, Funmaster Mike has streamed and recorded tons of amazing content. Beat Funmaster Mike challenge? Done! Hand & Brain challenge? Done! Teaming up with brilliant young chess prodigies like Tani, Brewington and Tihon? Done! Delivering corny jokes and interacting with thousands of fans and parents? You betcha. 

Get chess into as many places as possible!

I've personally thought of chess as a great equalizer. It doesn't matter if you're black, white, yellow or green. It doesn't matter if you're a boy or girl. It doesn't matter if you're nine or 90. If you have access to a chess set, you can learn. And if you can learn, you can enjoy it. 

Recently we announced winners of our ChessKid grants. There were SO many amazing applications, and we really struggled to select winners. Most of them came from school systems that serve severely economically disadvantaged or at risk students. We promise to post followup articles to share their incredible stories.  We couldn't be prouder of the deserving schools and the communities they serve!

 

Chess can be a force for good. As the world continues to evolve, we at ChessKid will adapt right along with it to carry out our mission of making this great game accessible to as many kids as possible. 

So keep the ideas, stories and feedback coming. We hear you, and we can't wait to bring you more!

 

Carey Fan

CEO, ChessKid