Phillip Margolin, CFS President, successful attorney and author of many New York Times bestsellers, knows first-hand how chess can save kids. In grade school, he was a bad student with a bad attitude. He had poor grades (he flunked 8th grade math) and low self-esteem. When he started playing chess he learned that to play correctly he had to sit still, with his feet on the floor and focus his attention on the board. He had to make decisions about choosing good moves and then re-evaluate his decisions. Without realizing it, he was developing the same skills children need to read a book with comprehension, solve a math problem and take an exam. As Phil’s grades improved so did his self-esteem. He went from non-academic classes to the honors program. Phil’s success today speaks eloquently of his improvement. He was a practicing criminal defense attorney for 25 years in Portland, Oregon, during which he tried many high-profile murder cases and argued before the Supreme Court.

Chess for Success clubs start with a chess lesson followed by an hour of playing time. Karen, a member of one of our elementary chess clubs has cerebral palsy. Her movements are erratic, she drools, and she is confined to a wheel chair. One day the coach paired Karen with one of the better players in the club, a macho boy. He told the coach that he would not play with her because she did not know how to play chess well. The coach suspected that the boy did not want to play with Karen because she was a girl and her disability makes her look odd. The coach told him that he must play her so he sat down to play. To the boy’s surprise Karen won. After the game the boy came up to the coach and in an awed tone of voice said “Boy she can play!” Within minutes chess had cut across all barriers and eradicated differences.

James is a ten-year old African American chess player. His school is in one of Portland’s roughest neighborhoods and 100% of the children in his school receive free lunch. James’ chess club competed at the regional chess tournament and he played so well he advanced to the state championship.

He arrived at the competition with his father and two brothers, all dressed in black leather-like jackets. Throughout the day the boys were very well-behaved and quiet. Their father offered to help out at the score table in the early afternoon. His speech was slightly slurred and the right side of his body was weakened from childhood polio. He told us that people told him that he would not have a normal childhood because of his disability but he learned to do everything with one hand. He learned chess on a dare when a friend said there was no way he could he learn it. He taught his boys chess because he knew first-hand the benefits of the game. He also taught them that they can do anything once they set their minds to it, and not to let anyone tell them otherwise.

Not long after James’ father started helping us he looked up and said “I can’t believe it!” It startled us and we asked what he meant. He told us that his ex-wife was in the audience and that this was the first time she came to anything for the boys. We found out later that he was raising the boys by himself in a one-bedroom apartment and working as a caregiver at an adult foster home. His commute takes one and a half hours each way.

James had problems in school after his parents split up six years earlier. His dad knew the value of using chess to focus a child’s attention and teach skills for success in life so he began playing chess with his boys every night. Now James excels in school and says he wants to be a lawyer because he talks a lot “and lawyers have to talk a lot.”

James took second place at the state championship, beating children who were taught by a Russian Grandmaster.

I first met Suzie when I went to her school assembly to present a trophy to the chess club for their achievement at the regional chess tournament. The school borders a housing project and 80% of the children receive free breakfast and lunch. I sat in the audience next to Suzie, a painfully shy fourth grader. She was staring at the trophy and quietly asked me why I brought it to their assembly. I explained that it was for the chess club and then she asked me very quietly if she could get a trophy if she joined the chess club. I told her that many children win trophies, ribbons and medals when they focus on learning and practicing their chess skills. She watched intently as the forty members of the chess club, all dressed in their blue chess club tee shirts, came forward to receive their trophy.

The next time I saw Suzie was at the regional chess tournament the next year. Fifteen elementary teams competed to advance to the state chess tournament. Suzie had joined the club and worked hard to qualify for the team. She was beaming as she came up to the score table to announce her first win and I was surprised to see that her shyness had been replaced with such
confidence. As the day progressed Suzie and her team mates advanced to first place and won a coveted place at the state competition.

The state competition had grown so large that it had to be held in two separate locations. I traveled back and forth throughout the day to meet with television and newspaper reporters. In the afternoon I arrived at the elementary site and Suzie came running up to me with her arms outstretched and a smile that took my breath away. I asked how she was doing and she said “I’m doing great.” I asked how many games she won and she said “Oh, I haven’t won any games.” She is a perfect example of what we try to teach the children – winning is fun but it is not the most important part of chess. She was excited to be there with hundreds of children from all around our state. She met new friends and her team was being featured by one of the network television stations for the evening news.

Suzie’s coach told me that she had a very difficult home life and that chess had turned her life around. She was self-confident, her grades and attendance had improved, and she was taking a leadership role in the chess club.

Several months later the Portland Trailblazers asked Chess for Success to set up chess boards at one of the games and bring some children to play with the fans. I asked Suzie’s team to come and they were thrilled. While the basketball game was going on the children were able to go inside to watch. Suzie declined and wanted to stay with me at the chess boards. We talked about school and she told me about her cat. I asked if she had brothers or sisters. She said, “No, it’s just my mom and me, my daddy left us one night without telling us where he was going and he never came back. He took all of my mother’s money and the car. We found out later that he had a gambling problem. Then we found out that he had another family that he did the same thing to before he married my mother.” I was stunned to hear her story and amazed at how chess had helped her overcome problems in her life that had to be devastating for a child her age.