ChessKid's Michelle Martinez Receives 2025 US Chess Scholastic Service Award

Jonathan Martinez honors his mother, winner of the 2025 US Chess Scholastic Service Award, for her lifelong dedication to making chess education accessible for all children, starting with him.

 

I was seven when my mom, Michelle Martinez, taught me chess. I remember her telling me how the game is super fun and she brought out a chess set in the living room. She showed me how the pieces moved and we played for hours. That was the first moment I realized how fun chess could be and how much of a challenge it was.

I wanted more of that challenge. I begged my mom to continue playing but it was getting late and I had an 8 pm sharp bedtime. I stayed up all night thinking about how much fun I'd had, and in that moment I knew that I loved this game.

Tactics were and still are my favorite thing about chess!

I kept asking to play more chess, so my mom starting researching and soon after signed me up for ChessKid! Back then, there were only a few bots to play, but we both remember one Saturday night where I played bots until the sun came up (she finally let me stay up late!). It was one of the most fun nights I'd ever had. That night got me hooked on ChessKid, so I ended up watching all of the lesson videos available, doing tactics for hours, and playing against any kid online who would accept the challenge.

Reppin' ChessKid in 3rd grade at SuperNationals V in 2013

I think my mom also knew how great of a site ChessKid was, since only a few years later she joined their team!

My mom and IM Danny Rensch (PoppaBear) at the 2015 National K-12 Grades 

My mom is my number one supporter. She saw that spark in my eyes and knew I loved chess from the moment we started playing. She helped me enroll in lessons, brought me to my first tournaments, and the rest is history.

I'd love to take all the credit for my trophies over the years, but my mom was the one who was always there for me when I had the worst losses, the biggest upsets, and those late nights practicing opening lines over and over to prepare for tournaments.

However, she's not just my biggest supporter. Michelle saw what chess did for me and wanted to bring that to everyone she could.

My mom is always there for me at the start of each tournament round

Michelle recently received the 2025 US Chess Scholastic Service Award for this exact reason. In Tucson, AZ, she joined the Southern Arizona Chess Association (SACA) board shortly after I started playing in their tournaments at local schools.

Michelle thanks her mentors at the US Chess Awards Ceremony in Madison, WI

She wanted to be an influence on the direction of chess by bringing the game to more kids in our community and see the spark in their eyes that she saw in mine. She eventually became President of SACA and continues to serve in that role today. She has helped run dozens of events in Tucson and the greater Arizona region, including several Arizona State Chess Championships, bringing hundreds of players together each year.

My mom even presented me with my trophy when I won the AZ State Scholastic Championship in 6th grade!

On the national level, Michelle has served as a US Chess Delegate for Arizona for over a decade and is an active member of multiple US Chess National committees including Nominating, Scholastic, and States & Affiliates. She is also a Trustee of the US Chess Trust. You've probably also seen her at many, many US Chess National tournaments as she has also been part of Chess Control Staff for about a decade, including SuperNationals VIII where almost 5,000 kids competed! 

Chess Control Staff at the 2024 National K-12 Grades in National Harbor, MD

At ChessKid, my mom is the Director of Enterprise Strategy, where she works with educators to bring chess to kids in schools around the country. She believes that chess should not be reserved just for those who have access to coaches and clubs, but should be accessible to all kids. And kids should be able to learn and have fun playing chess with their classmates and teachers!

She also values how chess helps children develop essential life skills, like critical thinking, patience, resilience, and decision making that extend far beyond the board. Michelle loves interacting with likeminded people who want to bring chess to their communities and schools.

Michelle presents a ChessKid back-to-school webinar to educators

I'm so proud of my mom for all that she has done to bring chess to children everywhere. This award is an acknowledgement of all the hard work she puts into our local communities and beyond.

I can personally attest to her late nights staying up alongside me, prepping for events that I was playing in and she was also tournament directing. She has a strong dedication to the chess community because she has seen the impact it had on me, instilling in me a passion and love for a game that has shaped so much of my life.