Impact
Our Numbers
200+ students mentored
5 countries represented
$2000 donated
International Impact
Shanti Bhavan Lessons
Given that chess has the ability to equip students with the skills needed to break the cycle of poverty, we are working with Shanti Bhavan Children's Project's India location to offer a 5-week chess camp to 18 middle schoolers from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are introducing students to the game and enhancing their current understanding through discussions on checkmates, opening principles, tactics, endgame themes, and more.
Classes started in late January and spanned until mid-March of 2023. We plan to resume in October 2024 for new students.
Raise Chess Academy Lessons
We are working with Raise Chess Academy, a nonprofit dedicated to using chess as a tool to help refugee children combat psychological trauma based in Kampala, Uganda, to provide 5 weeks of high-quality chess training to advanced students. We focus on middlegame exercises that combine positional understanding with concrete calculation, highlighting the nuances of the game. This training is meant to prepare these students for tournaments with other youth chess groups. We've been overjoyed with the excitement and curiosity these students demonstrate and their willingness to dig deeper to better understand a position. Our work has instilled confidence in refugee students, supplementing an important creative and recreational outlet in their lives.
Weekend Camp - For Residents of India
This weekend-long camp was designed to give fairly new players exposure to the game and its richness. We garnered massive interest in the camp and nourished engaged, young minds. We saw students from Canada, India, the Netherlands, and the United States. We hope to see these students excel as they continue to learn more about the game.
National Impact
2024, August Summer Camp
Students learned about middlegame technique through model games and exercises, with a specific focus on king safety, pawn structure, and exchanges
2023, August Summer Camp
This three-day camp dedicated to intermediate and advanced players covered the topics of prophylactic thinking, attack and defense, conversion, and practical endings. Students were given exercises from high-level games and encouraged to imagine themselves in their opponent's shoes, finding ways to practically and psychologically disturb their competitors. Despite the concepts being fairly advanced, students were able to participate, ask questions, and find interesting solutions to the problems posed (even valid alternatives to the gameplay!).
2022, August Summer Camp
In this camp, we had a small group of unrated players interested to learn more about the basics of the game. They studied checkmating patterns and opening principles.
2022, July Summer Camp
This camp marked the first ever Fighting Knights chess camp, which was held free-of-cost! We had a wonderful turnout with students of a variety of ages and skill levels. Students learned about the wonders the game had to offer: its complex middlegames, exciting endgames, tactical flares, and so much more!
State Impact
$2000 Donation
The Academy donated $2000 to support chess for girls in chess programs and in Title I schools. The funding went to the Charles H. Parker Academic Center. The girls in chess program entails having free weekly classes only for girls.
Jay M. Robinson Chess Club
In conjunction with Charlotte Chess Network's National Master Shawn Pealer, we have begun assisting with the school's chess club, having run a simul with 30+ eager students, with plans of conducting lectures in the future.
CMSCA Free Chess Lessons
Through our partnership with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Scholastic Chess Association, we offer monthly chess lessons, free-of-cost. Lessons are targeted at those just starting out to those with more experience. We cover a variety of topics, ranging from how to move to the pieces to mastering piece activity. Students have the chance to test their newfound skills by playing with their peers in friendly games.
"Every chess master was once a beginner."
Irving Chernev, Chess Author, World Chess Hall of Fame Inductee