- International Women’s Day & Cross Culture Girls
On International Women’s Day we would like to praise all girls, their mums and sisters that are engaged in our programs. We are happy to keep supporting you. Keep working hard and do not forget our next session in the Cross Culture Girls program. It will be on March 18 at 10am -11.30am US Eastern Time. There will be a Grandmaster lecture on the french plus a themed tournament on the french where all games will start with the moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5. Please make sure to check out some of the links to the instructive videos about the French before the session. You can find them in the chess.com club.
Enjoy your day young queens!
- Robert 17 become Kenyas number one
The top rated Kenyan is now 17-year old Robert Mcligeyo from our Chess 2 Change program. Robert has developed alot over the last two years and he recently managed to win the Kenyan Qualifiers with an impressive score of 8,5 out of 10, beating all the adults. He was recently interviewed by The Daily Nation. In the interview he stressed how much the support by GM Pontus Carlsson and the books and tips that he got from us have meant to him and his development. We are very proud of Robert and happy to keep suporting him towards his big dream to become a Grandmaster.
https://nation.africa/kenya/sports/other-sports/robert-mcligeyo-chess-whiz-kid-aiming-to-be-grand-master-4137816
We also would like to remind the Kenyan bank KCB Group that they have promised to sponsor Robert. Its high time to honor that promise.
Will KCB do the “right move” and honor their promise by starting to sponsor Robert? Well time will tell… - Ideas Roadshow
Recently we were featured in the docuseries Through the Mirror of Chess: A Cultural Exploration by Howard and Irena Burton that was just released. The 4-part docuseries is now available for rent/purchase on the new Ideas Roadshow app and on Vimeo On Demand (VOD). Each part covers a topic like Contemporary impact, The first millenium, Uniqueness, Art, science, sport.
Business Meets Chess & Kids are featured in part 4 (Contemporary impact).
Grandmaster Pontus Carlsson features in the film Link to the Films
Here is a link to the the films page where you can find a brief synopsis of each episode, links to the ideas Roadshow app and VOD and the accompanying book of Chessays:
https://ideasroadshow.com/chess/Enjoy the films!
- IM-norm to Saad
16-year old Saad Abobaker who is engaged in our extreme makeover program just earned his first IM-norm in Kragero Resort Chess International in Norway. On his way to the norm Saad managed to beat his first 2 Grandmasters in Kjetil Lie and Valentin Dragnev. A very impressive performance by Saad who ended up as shared 3rd just half a point after the winner the International Master John Paul Wallace from Australia.
Saad with his mentor Morten Borge who is the CEO of FERD. Here you can see Saads last round win against GM Dragnev
https://lichess.org/broadcast/krager-resort-chess-2023/round-9/DYyzoUGN
Here you can see the results
- Isaiahs adventure at Mombasa Open
Text: Triza Achieng (Isaiahs sister)
Isaiah Otieno Oluoch is a chess player from a very humble background. He started playing chess as a fun game not knowing that it will elevate him to greater heights and to meet successful people such as Mr. Githinji Hinga and GM Pontus Carlson. Thanks to Pontus Carlson, a GM from Sweden, Isaiah has managed to achieve a lot of things among them flying for the first in a plane to the Mombasa Open Chess Tournament. He managed to scoop three points out of the possible six.
Isaiah was very excited about flying for the first time 
I was also very excited, flying for first time ISAIAH’S EXPERIENCE IN MOMBASA
Isaiah and I were dropped by Mr. Githinji Hinga at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where he had already booked to and from flights for them courtesy of GM Pontus Carlson. It was a really great experience for us since it was our first flight.
We arrived at the Mombasa Continental Hotel at around 11:00 pm. Isaiah did some chess training and we ate some coastal dishes such as Biryani for dinner. Then we went to sleep to wait for the D-day which was the following day.
On the first day of the tournament, Isaiah faced his longtime coach Panchol Madol in his first round where Panchol won. Nonetheless Isaiah had a positive attitude towards it and discovered his weakness.
On the second round Isaiah won with a landslide against one Daniel Kinyanjui with only thirteen moves. Thus we had a lot of time to spare why we went to the beach for a swim.
On the third round which was on the second day, Isaiah lost the game to Joseph Maigua who is a very strong player. Nonetheless, Isaiah did not let the lose get to him. He continued on strong to the next game against Ethan where he managed to get a point.
On the last day Isaiah played against Ronald Bolo who is a force to reckon with. Isaiah lost to him but not without a fight. Isaiah went on to win the next game making it his third point.
We had to rush to the airport to catch our flight back home. We hope to fly again since “Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return.”
Thank you GM Pontus and Githinji.
Me with GM Pontus when he came to visit us in Kenya 
Githinji Hinga - Business Meets Chess & Kids in Stockholm
Team SJ with Sara and Adam Our last event was held at Stockholms Central Train Station where 20 teams consisting of a business profile and a youth from an innercity community played each other in a tandem chess tournament. There was many laughs and interesting meetings.
Social Chess is fun Swedens nr1 Grandmaster Nils Grandelius challenged some of the participants and visitors in a simul where he showed his class by winning all games in great style.
Nils Grandelius beeing interviewed by the actor Viktor Akerblom 
13-year old Mustafa was close to make a draw but lost in a long endgame 
The atmosphere was great 
The kids also got time to play each other in some warm up games before the tandem chess started 
And to challenge The Swedish international and 2 folded Swedish Champion GM Erik Blomqvist in a blitz game. 
Time for the Final where Team Copperstone with Prateyush and Michael beat Cederquist Lawfirm with Marek and Saeed in the playoff game. 
And its a win 
The Champions Prateyush Triphathi and Investor Michael Mattsson 
Half of the Swedish National Team attended the event. Here we can see the 3 Grandmasters Nils Grandelius, Erik Blomqvist and Pontus Carlsson 
It is also funny to see how much the kids enrolled in our programs have grown over the years here is a picture of Tomas Foto at his first Business Meets Chess & Kids event where he got the chance to meet and play with Swedens only Astronaut Christer Fuglesang. 
Some years pass by and this is how this young top student look like now, and yes he is of course studying at a top school in another area of Stockholm now. Maybe in some years he can start to work at for the same bank (SEB) as his mentor and Team mate Philip does. 
They played well together, had alot of fun and finished 3rd 
Here is Mohammad from The innercity community Rinkeby in Stockholm at his first Business Meets Chess & Kids event in Stockholm where he played together with the owner of Academic Work Jeremias Andersson. 
And this is how he looks now!
Mohammad and Tomas are two smart kids with a great future ahead, who have grown alot since we first met them. In 2023 Mohammad will start an intership at the real estate brooker TF Agency. Exciting times ahead for this young man.A big thank you to all participants, staff and sponsors who made this successful event possible.
- Amina & Bjorn wins in Linkoping
The Champions Amina Bekdash and The Municipal Commissioner Bjorn Alling Business Meets Chess & Kids organized an event at the shopping mall Skaggetorp Centrum that is located in the Inner city Community Skaggetorp. It was a great event that created alot of meetings between mentors and methees plus gave alot of local people and visitors the chance to try and to learn more about chess.
The Mayor of Linkoping Lars Vikinge was very happy with his partner Hamda who executed a nice checkmate that gave them the win. 
Team Saab with Elin and Jolyana had fun and did very well 
The Hotel Manager Roshan Malaltunga invited his partner Bisera and the whole group of kids and their teachers on a company visit and breakfast at Scandic, something that was very appreciated. 
The former President of The Swedish Chess Federation Ingvar Carlsson was one of the participants here in a tense game together with his partner Lilyan. A big thank you to Skaggetorp and all participants, staff and sponsors who made this possible. See you in 2023!
Sam and Fereshteh who both made a fantastic job with the event - Saad Elmi earns the FM Title!
The Norwegian International Saad Elmi together with his mentor Morten Borge who is the CEO of FERD One of our youngsters Saad Elmi who is in the extreme makeover program just became FIDE Master. He has managed to to raise his rating from 1800 to 2300 in about a year. An amazing development and a good evidence of what talented, smart kids can do if they just get a chance. We congratulate Saad on his achievments and are happy and proud to keep on supporting him toward further titles and success in his life and chess career. A big thank you also to FERD, Gisle Bjugn and Saads Norwegian chess club Bærum Schakselskap who all have supported Saad in the best possible way.
Gisle Bjugn Saads life have changed drastically, he has been going from beeing a broke kid in an innercity community to a FIDE Master, Norwegian international and Norwegian Champion in his age, plus that he has improved his grades so that he got into The Norwegian School of Elite Sports where he has a full scholarship. Excellent development for Saad and his family and more is to come. To quote the FERD owner and billionaire Johan H Andreasen “Saad rules! and we in FERD are happy to support him on his journey. You’ve seen nothing yet!”
Johan H Andresen 
Saad and Mortens first meeting was at one of our events in Oslo 
Saad at The World Youth Championships in Romania - New in Chess!
Business Meets Chess & Kids was featured in the last number of the prestigeous magazine New in Chess. It is a chess magazine that appears eight times a year with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam as chief editor. New in Chess began publication in 1984 and contains notes by top players and chess prodigies about their own games. Featured in the photospread is Meijun from Geely and Sara that played together at our event in Gothenburg in Sweden. Meijun has only been playing chess for 5 months and she got interested in chess after atending a Business Meets Chess & Kids event in spring. We are constantly looking for more people that would like to participate. So if you feel that you would like to attend an event, or to support then do not hesitate to contact us at info@businessmeetschessandkids.com
- Business Meets Chess & Kids in Oslo
Good atmosphere before the final between Team FERD and Team BI The final was very exciting and after a tense endgame and time scramble Team BI with Lucas Ranaldi and 10-year old Abdishakur Elmi clinched the title.
Abdishakur has developed his game alot the last year and is now rated around 2400 on chess.com.
Preparation for the final. (Saad Elmi & The CEO of FERD Morten Borge) Otherwise it was a great event at Økern Portal in Oslo
Team PWC having fun 
Team Ernst & Young with Marte & Vilasini vs Team Sci Group with the FIDE Vice President Jøran Janson & Sunniva 
Team Play Magnus 1 with Olga and Maria performed well. 
9-year old Adrian impressed with his mature chess. His only problem was that he had to stand in order to reach the board. Next year he will be both stronger and taller so the opponents will need to watch out. 
The audience were strong (Askild Bryn, GM Aryan Tari & GM Davis Howell.
We would like to thank all sponsors and participants for making this into a lovely afternoon. - GM Pontus Carlsson in Africa!
During the last weeks GM Pontus Carlsson was finally able to visit some of the African youths enrolled in our programs again after the pandemic. He first went to Kenya and is currently in Namibia. GM Pontus got to meet with many of the girls from the Cross Culture Girls program aswell as the kids engaged in Chess2Change and the families in the extreme makeover program. GM Pontus told us that he was very happy to meet all the kids, their families and the program coordinators in person.
He also travelled with 70kg of carefully selected Chessbooks that he was able to hand out to the kids enrolled in the Chess2Change program. Now the kids will be able to work on their game with their new books.
Two Champs! Winnie is African Champion under 10 and Nathaniel is only 6 years old but already Kenyan Champion under 8. They were very happy to get some new chess books and some new clothes. 
Robert was very happy to tell the GM about his first Chess Olympiad in India where he represented Kenya. And from their tough blitz encounters it is very clear that Roberts play has improved alot. GM Pontus was very impressed over his improvement. 
Mercy Ingado got to play a couple of games with the GM and she also got a brand new green chess set plus a bunch of chessbooks and a internet connection + diamond membership at chess.com so she can study and play chess online. A good step on her way towards her dream of becoming a Grandmaster. 
The Kenyan u12 Champion Bernice Wambui was very happy to play some games against the GM. She also got some new nice clothes, books and alot of tips on how she can improve her game. 
GM Pontus also got the chance to visit Mangu High School where Isaiah Otieno is currently studying. There he got to meet with the principal Mr. John Kuria and of course to hand over some chess books to Isaiah. 
Together with the local coordinator Mr Githinji Hinga the GM was able to visit some of the extreme makeover families to see how they were doing plus to hand over some clothes and food. 
Next generation GMs… - Business Meets Chess & Kids in Gothenburg!
High five! The next Business Meets Chess & Kids event on October 5 will be held in Gothenburg at Uni3 by Geelys Headquarter on Pumpgatan 1. It will be a social event (2.30pm – 6pm Swedish Time) with mingle, food and tandem chess. Contact us if you would like to join.
Linn & Sara will both be there on October 5th 
So will the fund manager Erik Sprichorn from TIN Funds WELCOME!
- Networking in Oslo!
Last week we gathered our partners and participants from the Norwegian business community for a fun social evening with chess and networking at FERDs Headquarter in Oslo. On the program apart from socializing was a nice dinner, a tough quiz made by Askild Bryn and a tandem chess tournament where the players were alterning the moves.
The World Champion Magnus Carlsen came to enjoy and play some games even thou he was jetlagged after his US trip where he won the FXT Crypto Cup in Miami. 
The Atmosphere was great 
The TV2 crew with the Chess Experts, Grandmaster Jon Ludvig Hammer & the FIDE Master Maud Rodsmoen were enjoying themselves. 
So was the Arctic Founder Petter Bakken, who is an avid chessplayer. Here in pair with one of our talented youngsters the Norwegian International Noam Vittenberg. 
In the tandem chess tournament there was many tough games. Here Team SEB with the CEO of SEB Norway John Turesson and the Norwegian Champion 2021 Kristian Stuvik Holm against Team Agdestein with the legendary Simen Agdestein and Arne. Watching is The TV host Kaja Snare who is actual as the host for The Meltwater Chess Tour. 
The basketball player and economist Roy Nwachukwu who grew up in an innercity community enjoyed to play some games of tandem chess, here in pair with Petter Yran. 
Its not always easy to remember whos turn it is, but it is alot of fun here with Cathrine Bruvold from KPMG and 
The Winners of the Tandem Chess Tournament Morten Borge CEO of FERD and the entrepreneur Olga Dolzhikova. The won a chessboard signed by Magnus Carlsen. 
The quiz was fun 
but hard… 
After many discussions and laughs we had a winner. 
and the quiz winners Simen, Shattik, Arne and Aryan all won a watch from Von Doren.
Well done!
The quizmaster Askild Bryn 
The business people who did not know how to play got a rapid course by our instructors, here we can see Mohammad teach Tom the founder of the impact investing firm Norselabs. 
Chess training with coach Hamdan! 
The Head of CSR for 4service Tone H learned how to play during the evening. 
The warm up game between GM Pontus Carlsson and the CEO of FERD Morten Borge was a draw so that the preparations could continue. We are looking forward to se everyone again at Business Meets Chess & Kids Oslo that will be arranged on November 4 at Økern Portal. Dont miss it!
- Saad is Nordic Champion!
Our Norwegian talent Saad Elmi just won the Nordic Youth Championships in the u17 category. Saad scored 4,5 points out of 6 with 3 wins and 3 draws. Next challenge for Saad is the World Youth Championships in Mamaia, Romania. We hope for more success there. Well done Saad.
https://chess-results.com/tnr668543.aspx?lan=6&art=1&rd=6&fedb=NOR&turdet=YES&flag=30
- Chess at the Mall!
GM Aryan Tari is trying to deliver checkmate before he loses on time. As a part of the project Chess for inclusion Norways nr 2 Grandmaster Aryan Tari came to the shopping mall Stovner Senter in Oslo and took on 60 players in a simultaneous exhibition. Aryan showed his high level and won all games apart from one that he lost on time against the former Norwegian international WFM Sylvia Johnsen.
Aryan also challenged the visitors in handicap blitz where he had as little as 45 seconds on the clock against 5 minutes for the challengers.
Many people tried their luck but Aryan were ruthless and just kept on winning.
Even the commentator and TV expert Grandmaster Jon Ludvig Hammer tried to help out by motivating the challengers and changing the rules so that Aryan had to play two players at the same time with only 1 minute on the clock.
And that eventually led to a defeat when 12 year old Fredrik managed to win a game and himself a voucher at Stovner Senter. Well done Fredrik!
Some media houses attended the event to write about it and do interviews. One reporter even decided to take a seat and challenge Aryan to a game.
Apart from the exhibition by Aryan Tari there was also a tournament held at the Deichman Library that attracted participants of all ages and from very different backgrounds. All participants won a nice meal at the local restaurant Alibaba.
A great day and we could not have done such a great job without our young staff that all did an amazing job. And by the way this is their first job! A big thank you to our partners the Norwegian Chess Federation, Vestli Chess Club, Stovner Senter and Deichman Stovner.
- Chess for inclusion in Norway
Together with The Norwegian Chess Federation we are running a project in Oslo called chess for inclusion where we create a series of social and inclusive chess events in the innercity communities.
An important part of the project is that some of the teenagers engaged in our program gets the chance to get a job.
Saad have been doing two simul exhibitions at the Deichman Library in Stovner and at the shopping Mall Stovner Senter, one was a tandem simul together with the TV presenter Maud Rødsmoen who also plays in the Norwegian National Team.
One of the challengers in the simul was the CEO of FERD Morten Borge. FERD is also Sponsoring Saad and paying for his school fees so he can study at the Norwegian School of Elite Sports where he has GM Simen Agdestein as his teacher. 
Next event is on August 27 12 noon to 4pm Central European Time when Norways nr 2 GM Aryan Tari will come to Stovner Senter for a simul. Come and watch it. 
- Saads Success!
After a good tournament you need to have a good dinner (Saad with GM Pontus Carlsson that stopped by to support) 16-year old Saad Abobaker Elmi followed up the successful Norwegian Championships by a strong performance in Czech Open held in Pardubice, Czech Republic. Saad scored 5 out of 9 and earned 112! rating points after beating one International Master and one FIDE Master. Well done Saad! https://chess-results.com/tnr633805.aspx?lan=1&art=9&fed=NOR&turdet=YES&flag=30&snr=131
- Chess 2 Change Charity Stream
Join us on July 19th for a charity stream in support of African chess friends! FM James Canty will host the event and play against Top GM Grandelius!
16 year old Kenyan International Robert Mcligeyo will challenge FM Canty for a live game on the stream. We will also have a donation game with Kenyan U12 Champion Bernice Wambui!
Feel free to donate here or on the stream! - Saad wins Blitz Championship & finishes 2nd in Classical
Saad participated in the Norwegian Junior Championship! He topped the Blitz category and finished second in the classical format!
Saad finishes second – Classical category Saad is getting ready to play Czech Open and after that he will start his first semester at the Norweigan School of Elite Sports. He has started his preparations for the World Youth Championships in Romania.
GM Jon Ludvig Hammer Big thanks to his mentor Morten Borge who is the CEO of FERD – the company that is sponsoring Saad. - Chess 2 Change stream with Magnus, Anna and Maurice!
Chess 2 Change – The most life changing tournament ever – was organized on 12th June and streamed via twitch. The event was a huge success with interesting games and special guest appearance by world champion Magnus Carlsen! Anna Rudolf and Maurice Ashley commented on the games.
Feel free to contribute to the cause via a donation here.
Team Chess 2 Change featuring Arvin Rasti & Robert Mcligejo won the tournament with an unbeaten score of 6.5/7.
Winners of Chess 2 Change 12 teams competed for the title in 7 rounds! Here are the participants!
The ongoing Chess 2 Change Campaign will help African kids in their school education, internet access, laptops, chess equipment, chess training, books, travel expenses and so on.
Join us in driving change through the game of chess. Donate here. - Chess 2 Change!
Global Business People will team up with African kids! World Champion MagnusCarlsen will guest the stream by Anna Rudolf & Maurice Ashley.
Watch the stream: http://twitch.tv/Chess2Change today(12th June 2022) at 12 Noon US Eastern time!
If you want to support the children feel free to donate on the stream or at https://businessmeetschessandkids.com
- Magnus Carlsen guests Chess 2 Change!
IM Anna Rudolf & The World Champion Magnus Carlsen are ready for Chess 2 Change on June 12th The World Champion Magnus Carlsen will be a guest in the studio of the Chess 2 Change stream on June 12th. He will join the chess streamer and International Master Anna Rudolf and Grandmaster Maurice Ashley.
Spots left!
There is currently two spots left to the Chess 2 Change tournament held on June 12th, for adults who would like to participate. Contact us if you would like to play.
- Next ML Wins in Stockholm!
Next ML with Marek Religa and Oscar Johansson won Business Meets Chess & Kids in Stockholm held at Cederquist Law Firm. They won an exciting final against SPP. Thanks to all the participants and sponsors for a great afternoon.
The billionaire Saeid Esmaeilzadeh and Nihad against Agnes from Cederquist and Julina 
The billionaire and CEO of SBB Ilija Batljan is having fun with Mohammed, Lily and Kezli from Klarna Group 
Thanks for a great game! 
The kids were having fun! 
Cristina & Georgiana Ostafiev enjoyed the event - Business Meets Chess & Kids Stockholm
On May 31st, we will host a tandem chess tournament. Business Meets Chess & Kids Stockholm will be held at 3pm Swedish time until 6pm at the Headquarter of Cederquist Law Firm.
Ilija Batljan Real estate billionaire Ilija Batljan will be joining us as a participant for the event!
- Maurice Ashley will be commentating Chess 2 Change
On June 12th we will organize Chess 2 Change and we are very happy to announce that Grandmaster Maurice Ashley will be one of the commentators. Chess 2 Change is an online Hand & Brain tournament where people from the whole world team up with African talents from poor backgrounds.
We still have some places left for adults that wants to join, read more here and reach out to us if you want to join.
- Thunderful Group won in Gothenburg.
Thunderful Group with 11-year old Kinan and CEO Brjann Sigurgeirsson won in Gothenburg.
Kinan and CEO Brjann Sigurgeirsson with the trophy! The tournament was conducted in Nordstan – In the heart of Gothenburg.
Interesting scene at the tournament! It was a fun tournament with multiple exciting matches!
- Ariana and Ricardo won in Marbella
Ariana and Ricardo represented Club Miraflores to win an exciting final against Team Los Naranjos Golf Club at Business Meets Chess and Kids Marbella!
Ariana and Ricardo It was fun to have the former Real Madrid star Esteban Granero as a participant in the tournament
Granero in action! - Business Meets Chess & Kids in Gothenburg!
On Friday April 29th we will host a tandem chess tournament with the goal to facilitate integration at the shopping mall Nordstan, in Gothenburg, Sweden. The concept is that each child from an inner-city community gets paired up with a business executive or a celebrity to play tandem chess (alternating the moves) in a tournament.
The Hiphoper Promoe and Khadija in action Event description
Business Meets Chess & Kids in Gothenburg is an event to facilitate integration and work against segregation in society by using chess as a bridging tool. Chess can be played by everyone regardless of background or socioeconomic status, as the event highlights.
The main event is a tandem chess tournament where a business executive is paired with a child from the inner city communities in a team where they alternate moves (without discussion). The event is being held publicly at the Shopping mall Nordstan. This time the participants are Business Executives from companies like Geely, Volvo Cars, Uni3 by Geely, Thunderful Group, Länsförsäkringar, Finwire, SPP, SBP Nordic, and Business Region Gothenburg. The artist Promoe will also participate.
Pre-Event
There will also be a pre-event between 2 and 3PM Central European Standard time (CEST), where the Swedish International Arvin Rasti, will challenge the audience in blitz games. Arvin Rasti will get 90 sec for the whole game, and the challenger gets 5 minutes. No increments.
- Chess 2 Change is moved!
Due to Illness we have decided to move the Chess 2 Change tournament to June 12th. You can read more about it here.
Feel free to reach out to us if you are interested in participating or would like to support our fundraiser.
- Bernice wins Kenyan National Open Championship: U-12
In the recently conducted, Kenyan National Youth Chess Championships, Bernice Wambui Gikandi won against the boys to end up with a perfect score of 8/8!
Bernice was also a part of the team that drew against Judit Polgar. She will also be participating in the Chess 2 Change event on April 23rd 2022!
She is looking for business individuals to help her continue her winning streak! Join us today!
- Cross Culture Girls session with Rochelle Ballantyne
About a decade ago, Brooklyn Castle was released It tells the stories of five members of the chess team at a below-the-poverty-line inner city junior high school that has won more national championships than any other in the country. Rochelle Ballantyne, then 17, starred in the film.
Source: New York Daily News / Getty Rochelle will be joining us for the Cross Culture Session on On April 1st at Noon ET/7 PM Kenya time . She will inspire the girls with a few career highlights and talk about her goals and how she overcame adversity.
- Saad plays against 10 year old Magnus Carlsen
Saad Abobaker helped SEB Bank contribute $4500 to UNICEF when he played against 10 year old Magnus Carlsen on the Play Magnus app!
The money will be used by UNICEF to aid their work in Ukraine.
The game was a part of The Play Magnus Charity Challenge, a fundraiser for UNICEF, of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Charity Cup 2022.
- Our girls drew against the legendary Judit Polgar
On 20th March, participants of Cross Culture Girls sessions challenged GM Judit Polgar. Playing Black, the girls ended up with a draw against Judit!
WFM Alessia Santeramo and WGM Jennifer Shahade streamed the session on twitch.
Bernice and the girls making some strong moves on the board The hosts did a fantastic job! The girls had a lot of fun despite the fact that it was very late in Africa when the game ended!
- Happy #InternationalWomensDay 2022
The chess community is blessed to have so many wonderful women chess players. A salute to them for their never ending inspiration. We are back with yet another Cross Culture Girls event!
The session will be conducted on March 20th 2022 from 9 AM US Eastern Time. Apart from a tournament, there will also be a consultation game against the legendary GM Judit Polgar. The games will be streamed on Alessia Santeramo’s twitch channel.
The event will be hosted by WGM Jennifer Shahade! Do not forget to check out her new book Chess Queens!
- Robert Mcligeyo Qualifies to the World Chess Olympiad
Robert Mcligeyo will be joining the Kenyan team in Russia for the World Chess Olympiad thanks to his brilliant performance in the Qualifiers.
Robert Mcligeyo (Right) poses with Isaiah Robert will also be part of Chess 2 Change. Business peeps, look out for him! You will be lucky to have him on your team 😉
- Isaiah wins Nairobi Junior Championship!
Isaiah Otieno finished on top after 6 rounds at the Nairobi Regional Junior Chess Championship 2022
Isaiah with Robert Mcligeyo who qualified to the Olympiad! Isaiah scored 5/6 with a rating performance of 1273. With his top performance, Isaiah has also qualified for the National championship!
Read more about Isaiah here. We wish Isaiah the best for his future tournaments!
- Cross Culture Girls – 12th February
The girls are ready! We will have a Cross Culture Girls session on 12th February at 11am US Eastern time. Having finished the previous session which included confidence training by Benjamin Portheault, it’s time for some review!
Schedule
1. Follow up on the homework from Benjamin’s Confidence training.
2. A Najdorf session by WGM Jennifer Shahade & GM Pontus Carlsson.
3. A themed Najdorf tournament so they can test what they have learnt. - Confidence Training
Happy new year! It is time for the first Cross Culture Girls session of the year. On 15th January 2021, we will have a training session by Benjamin Portheault who is a renowned Performance coach for mental athletes.
In the session, we will discuss key ideas in the Najdorf followed by a themed tournament with Najdorf Sicilian.
Here is the schedule-
45 min – Benjamin Portheault (confidence training + non chess preparation)
10 min – Najdorf review where we go over the moves and some typical key ideas in the Najdorf.
50 min – Themed Tournament Najdorf Sicilian
- 4 Rounds
- Time control: 4 min +2 sec/move
- Success at the Africa Schools Individual Chess Championship 2021
We are proud to share that chess players from our Cross Culture Girls program have achieved remarkable results at the Africa Schools Individual Chess Championship
In the Under-11 category, Elizabeth Cassidy from Kenya topped the leader board after 9 rounds. She remained unbeaten and gained a massive 44.5 Elo points
Fantalis Lucy Nduta from Kenya scored 5,5/9 and finished 5th in the Under-11 category
Elizabeth Cassidy from Kenya 
Fantalis Lucy Nduta from Kenya Lakshita Dutt from Malawi triumphed in the U-13 section with a sole lead of of 8/9 and Yvonne Mwashe from Kenya finished 6th with 4.5 points
Lakshita Dutt from Malawi 
Yvonne Mwashe from Kenya In the Under-15 category, Hannah Mawejje finished 12th with a score of 4/9. With a high gain of 68,4 Elo points, Ingado Mercy won the U-17 category. She scored 7.5/9 in the tournament!
Hannah Mawejje from Uganda 
Ingado Mercy from Kenya
Image: Lighthouse Chess Club – Lighthouse Chess ClubWe congratulate all the winners and wish them luck!
- Pontus Carlsson’s Birthday Tournament and Cross Culture Girls
On December 18th, Cross Culture Girls session was organized with WGM Jennifer Shahde and WGM Nadya Ortiz. It was a fun filled session as we celebrated GM Pontus Carlsson’s birthday with a special themed tournament in the Sicilian Dragon.
WGM Jennifer Shahade asks why Sicilian Dragon? Apart from the chess.com club tournament, one could witness a lot of cultural exchanges throughout the session. Many of us managed to learn chess pieces in Spanish as well!
We leave you with a mate in two puzzle from one of the games of the tournament
white to play and mate in two - Cross Culture Girls – 18th Dec
At 12 noon US Eastern time, we will have a session. We are very much excited as it is GM Pontus Carlsson’s birthday! WGM Jennifer Shahade and WGM nadya Ortiz will join us for fun filled discussions!
Happy Birthday GM Pontus Carlsson! Along with mix of cultures and chess experiences, we will also have a chess tournament for all our girls. This is going to be an interesting session!
- Ingrid & Ariza won in Oslo
Ingrid and Ariza in action! On November 19th, Business Meets Chess & Kids was organized at Ullevål Soccer Stadium. Business executives from various companies participated and supported the event by playing tandem chess together with kids from Oslo´s inner-city communities.
Team Dacon with Ariza Hina & Ingrid Dahl won the tournament after beating Ferd 1 with Morten Borge & Saad Abobaker in the exciting final.
Morten Borge & Saad Abobaker Ferd along with CEO Morten Borge will sponsor Saad in his endeavor to become a Grandmaster. The sponsorship will preliminary be for a minimum duration of 3 years and it will cover training, tournament expenses as well as his school fees at Norwegian School of Elite Sports! This is a perfect illustration of how meetings across the chessboard can be life changing!
- Charity Stream for our African kids
On Monday November 29th, we will host a charity stream in favour for our African kids that need school fees, food, clothes and chess equipment.
The stream will be hosted by the chess influencer and streamer Alessia Santeramo and can be seen on here twitch channel hereWe will have the following guests on the stream
Former World Champion Veselin Topalov
7 folded Russian Champion GM Peter Svidler
Swedens nr1 GM Nils Grandelius
WGM and former US Champion Jennifer Shahade
GM Pontus Carlsson
GM Noel Studer
Isaiah Otieno
CM Kennedy Shane
Elizabeth Cassidy
Yvonne Mwashe
Bernice Wambui
Saad Abobaker
Mohammed Ali JefarliThanks to ChessKid.com, winner of each match will be able to present 50 GOLD memberships for 3 months to a school or a chess club of their choice!
Duration of the stream: The stream will go on from 10am to 6.30pm CETSchedule CET – Central European Time
10.00 – 11.00 Alessia
11.00 – 12.00 Alessia
12.00 – 12.30 GM Topalov vs CM Kennedy Shane odds match
12.40 – 13.40 GM Topalov vs GM Grandelius blitz match
14.00 – 15.00 GM Svidler vs Bernice Wambui odds match
15.00 – 16.00 Alessia
16.00 – 17.00 Hand & Brain match WGM Shahade & Elizabeth Cassidy vs WFM Alessia Santeramo & Yvonne Mwashe
17.00 – 18.30 Business match + round off
- Cross Culture Girls with US Champion Carissa Yip & The Kenyan Champion Joyce Nyaruai!
On November 26th at 11am US Eastern Time we will do a Champions session featuring The US Champion Carissa Yip and the Kenyan Women Champion Joyce Nyaruai. They will both go through some of their games from their last successful tournament and speak about how they managed they managed to win the decisive games.
DO NOT MISS IT!
- Business Meets Chess & Kids in Oslo
The Mayor of Oslo Marianne Borgen & Melaika Rajab On November 19th Business Meets Chess & Kids will be organized at Ullevål Soccer Stadium. Business Executives and Norwegian celebrities will then play tandem chess together with young talents from Oslos innercity communities.
The Schedule (CEST)
2pm – 3pm Challenge Grandmaster Jon Ludvig Hammer in blitz
3pm – 6pm Tandem Chess Tournament where each youth is beiing paired with a business executive or celebrity.
The “Hammer” strikes again Among the participants are the CEO of FERD Morten Borge, Kenneth Gvein the CEO of Knowit Experience, Philipp Engedahl Managing Director for Flytoget, Petter Vold from PwC and the TV personalities Erle Marki Hansen and Sverre Krogh. Another interesting participant is the World Champion Magnus Carlsens company Play Magnus Group.
FERDs CEO Morten Borge is ready to play! here with Elilan 
Erle Marki Hansen 
Sverre & Husein in action 
The kids are ready 
The games will be broadcasted, may the best team win!
- SPP won in Stockholm!
Team SPP 2 with the Swedish u11 Champion Matija Sakic and Alexander Karlsson won the exciting final against TIN Fonder with Erik Sprinchorn and Solomia Trustaevska.
A big thank you to Cederquist Law Firm for hosting us. It was a great afternoon with alot of smiles and great meetings.
The Founder of Digital Tolk Virpal Singh and Morissa in action! 
The Cederquist derby! 
- Business Meets Chess & Kids in Stockholm
The Academic Work owner Jeremias Andersson is ready to play! On Wednesday November 10th, 20 business executives from Stockholm, Sweden will gather at the headquarter of Cederquist Law Firm to participate in a tandem chess tournament together with kids from Stockholms Innercity communities.
The schedule
15.00 – 18.00 The tandem chess tournament
Who is playing
Jessica Malhotra from Cederquist Law Firm & Isabella Adam Among the participants are the Academic Work owner Jeremias Andersson, The owners of Digital Tolk Leyla Sarac & Virpal Singh, CEO of Meetly Daniel Tekle, SPPs CEO Staffan Hansén, the broker Erik Sprinchorn from TIN Fonder, the serial entrepreneur Jarno Vanhatapio from NA-KD and the partner of Cederquist Law Firm Erik Wernberg.
May the best team win!
Daniel Tekle to the right and his Meetly is ready to play! - Uni3 by Geely won in Gothenburg
Team Uni3 by Geely won Business Meets Chess & Kids in Gothenburg. It was a great afternoon with alot laughs and meetings across borders. We want to thank all sponsors and an extra thank you to Nordstan, Uni3 by Geely and Geely.
- Business Meets Chess & Kids in Gothenburg
On Friday October 15th business executives from Gothenburg, Sweden will gather in the large Shopping mall Nordstan to participate in a tandem chess tournament together with kids from the innercity community Angered. The goal with the tournament is to foster togetherness.
The schedule
14.00 – 15.00 – The Swedish International Arvin Rasti Challenge the audience in blitz
15.00 – 18.00 The tandem chess tournament
Arvin Rasti who is from an innercity community himself Who is playing
Among the participants are business executives from companies like Geely, Volvo Cars, Uni3 by Geely, Stena Metall Group, ForestX, Gomo Group and SPP. Other prominent participants is the artist Promoe and the former member of parliament Johan Lönnroth.
Promoe is among the participants May the best team win!
- The student beats the coach!
Our Kenyan chess talent Isaiah Otieno that comes from a very poor background has shown some nice progress lately. At the Kitengela Chess Championships he managed to beat his coach the Nairobi Champion and former Kenyan International Githinji Hinga in the last round to finish 6th with 4,5 out of 6.
Just before that he also won the junior section at the Nairobi Chess Championships even thou he was among the younger participants.
He defeated the Kenyan Women Champion Candidate Master Lucy Wanjiru from our Cross Culture Girls program (Who is also a successful hiphop artist under the name The Lone Wolf) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5oO5mO6vKunOY36XujFhBA in their 4 game match with the score 3-1.
Although the generous prize money made both contestors happy in the end. 
Isaiah ended his sucessful spell by earning some nice ratingpoints at the Mombasa Open where he was well dressed!
He was getting strong support from his sister Marylyn who closed her small ice cream shop for a day to come along and support her brother.
It was the first time Isaiah stayed in a hotel but surerly not the last time!
A well deserved swim after another successful tournament.
- Cross Culture Girls October 1st
Next session will be on October 1st at 12.00 noon US Eastern Time.
In the session we will go over some recent games played by our girls in recent tournaments like the African Youth Championships where we had many girls from our program that participated. Many did well and got important experience of international chess. Well done girls and see you on October 1st.
Naledi Marape from Botswana won Gold in the under 16 category - Cross Culture Girls + Colombia!
On August 28th we were very happy to welcome 30 new colombian girls to our program. The session had a focus on a cultural exchange and was lead by the three Grandmasters, Jennifer Shahade, Nadya Ortiz and Pontus Carlsson who is born in Colombia.
GM Pontus Carlsson in action! Girls from Africa, Colombia and the United States gathered online for about 2 hours to practice their Spanish and English, take a quiz with questions about Colombia, Uganda, Botswana, Kenya and United States, to play a tournament and to interact and share life experiences and food from their country. It really was an excellent session.
Tournament in Progress… 
Gracias Colombia! - Business Meets Chess & Kids Online
Business Meets Chess & Kids Online gathered a bunch of business executives from the Swedish Trade and Industry that played tandem chess together with youths from different Swedish innercity communities like Rinkeby, Skäggetorp, Tensta, Botkyrka and Zlatan Ibrahimovic Rosengård to mention a few. It was a great digital event that created alot of digital meetings, tense games and laughs.
Chess is fun! Swedens nr 1 Grandmaster Nils Grandelius played a nice online simul before the main event against 10 brave challengers. One of his challengers was the astronaut Christer Fuglesang.
The Hiphop artist Promoe was one of the participants. 
Chess is for everyone! The real estate billionaire Greg Dingizian was one of the business executives that had a fun afternoon online. Greg also grew up in the innercity community Rosengård.
Chess, food, networking and new laptops the kids had a good time! Overall it was a great event and we would like to thank all participants and sponsors. Also a big thank you to the excellent team of arbiters led by the main arbiter Shohreh Bayat who took great care of the participants throughout the whole event.
- Cross Culture Girls July
In July we will do a themed Kings Indian tournament plus some tournaments and sessions. Please check the chessclub for info on the tournaments. We are very happy to welcome our new Nigerian girls! from the Chess in Slums initiative.
Schedule July
1) July 9th at 12 noon US Easter Time – Kings Indian Tournament with Women Grandmaster Katerina Nemcova
2) July 30th at 10am US Eastern Time – Nigeria welcome + Tournament and Session
- Cross Culture Girls June
In June we will have the honor to have the strongest female player on the planet Grandmaster Judit Polgar as a guest. On June 3rd at 3.30 pm US Eastern time, Judit will answer your questions and WGM Jennifer Shahade will show some nice games and tactics from Judits long and impressive career. Do not miss it!
Schedule June
1) June 3 at 3.30 pm US Eastern Time – Q&A with Judit Polgar!
2) June 4 at 12 noon US Eastern Time – Tournament & Session
3) June 18 at 12 noon US Eastern Time – Kings Indian lecture by Women Grandmaster Katerina Nemcova
4) July 9th at 12 noon US Easter Time – Kings Indian Tournament
Judit used to be top 10 in the world! Also do not forget to check the club for this months casual tournaments.
Grandmaster Judit Polgar 
Women Grandmaster Katerina Nemcova is a player of the US National Team - Cross Culture Girls May!
Next class in the Cross Culture Girls program will be on Friday, May 14th at 12 noon US Eastern Time.
Grandmasters will teach you how to train chess!
Do not miss it!
- Business Meets Chess & Kids Online!
On April 23rd, Business Executives from the Swedish Trade & Industry will pair with kids from the Swedish inner-city communities for a Tandem Chess Tournament online. Among the participants are companies like Spotify, Merck and Redeye. The pre-event will see Grandmaster Nils Grandelius take on 10 players in an online simul. One of his challengers are the first Swede in space, the astronaut Christer Fuglesang.
Christer Fuglesang Schedule
1pm – 2pm – Grandmaster Nils Grandelius will play against 10 challengers.
2pm – 6pm – The Tandem Chess Tournament
All times are CEST (Central European Standard Time). If you would like to be one of the lucky players that gets the chance to challenge GM Grandelius then contact us on info@businessmeetschessandkids.com
The real estate billionaire Greg Dingizian is among the participants - Cross Culture Girls April
Next session will be on April 23rd at 12.00 noon US Eastern Time. Do not miss it since it will be a very instructive class with a tournament and feedback on your games by WGM Jennifer Shahade and WIM Sabrina Chevannes.
Sabrina is ready for April 23rd Tournaments April
April will be a tournament month so there will be various online tournaments. Information about them will be published in the chess club at chess.com.
Kenyan Champion Lucy Wanjiru is ready for the April sessions and tournaments
- Cross Culture Girls March
African Online Champion under 9 Elisabeth Cassidy is ready for the March trainings Next two sessions will be:
1) March 13th at 11 am US Eastern Time. When we will welcome the Swedish, legendary Grandmaster and two folded European Champion, Pia Cramling that will share her knowledge with all of you in a Masterclass. There will also be a tournament.
Grandmaster Pia Cramling 2) March 19th at 12.00 noon US Eastern Time. We will be joined by the “Queen of Qatwe” Phiona Mutesi that will talk about her life and chess career. If you have not yet seen the Walt Disney Movie Queen of Qatwe you should! since it is really good.
Phiona Mutesi in action with her coach Robert Katende watching
Photo: Carlos IllardoHomework
We remind all girls about the homework to March 19th
1. To try to increase your playing rating on chess.com with 100 points.
2. To try to increase your puzzle rating on chess.com with 200 points.
3. To play against a minimum of 5 other members of the Cross Culture Girls program.
- Cross Culture Girls in February 2021
Next two sessions will be:
1) February 19th at 12.00 noon US Eastern Time2) February 20th at 11 am US Eastern Time (A thematic tournament in the Sicilian opening)
Homework
We remind all girls about the homework to February 19th
1. To try to increase your playing rating on chess.com with 100 points.
2. To try to increase your puzzle rating on chess.com with 200 points.
3. To play against a minimum of 5 other members of the Cross Culture Girls program.
4. To train on the sicilian opening since we will do a thematic tournament on February 20. All games in that tournament will start with the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3.
Keep on training!
- Our Cross Culture Girls program expands!
We are happy to announce that we have now expanded our program so that it does not only engage girls from The US and Kenya no, now also all chess playing girls from Uganda, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Malawi and Tanzania can join our Cross Culture Girls program 😃
What is our Cross Culture Girls Program
It is a online program that we run in partnership with Lighthouse Chess Club and US Chess Women. The program offers free chess training lead by female top players and cross cultural sessions where the girls interact and learn from each other.
Goals with the program
- To through the help of chess create a cultural exchange between the girls.
- A mutually beneficial exchange that will lead to female empowerment, inspiration, improved chess skills, new experiences, and new friends.
What is needed to join
The girls need to have an internet connection plus a device that allows them to connect to be able to follow the classes/ play the tournaments.
For the girls that have attended our sessions and tournaments plus joined our chess club at chess.com there have been some nice rewards not just in terms of alot of fun, increased skills (many have increased their online ratings with more then 200 points) and new friends but also new physical chess boards and Diamond memberships at Chess.com
How to join
For questions or to sign up for the program please contact Mrs. Judith Kiragu +254 721485493 judy.kiragu@fortemcltd.com
- Give a gift on Giving Tuesday!
Today, December 1 is Giving Tuesday, a day that encourages people to do good and help other people in the world to get through difficulties. If you would like to help our Kenyan kids from the Mukuru Kwa Njenga Slums that has been badly affected by the virus situation and lockdown in their country and they need clothes, food and chess equipments so they can stay healthy and keep their minds sharp in these challenging times, then please send your donation through our website at paypal.me/pools/c/89ee7XWmWS
Asante Sana!
- Carlsen is ready for Business Meets Chess & Kids in Oslo!
Magnus Carlsen in action! On November 6, Norwegian business leaders will meet with children from the inner city communities for a tandem chess tournament. Magnus Carlsen, the World Champion and founder of Play Magnus Group will be one of the participants together with the CEO of Ferd, Morten Borge. They are joined by business leaders from companies like Carnegie, Verdane Capital, Knowit, 4C and Alfred Berg.
The tournament will start at 3pm Central European Time, and will be covered by Chess 24, Do not miss it!
Morten & Elilan - Cross Culture Girls!
In partnership with Lighthouse Chess Club and US Chess Women we are very happy to present our new US – Kenya cross culture girls program.
The program that runs online, offers free chess training lead by female top players and cross cultural sessions where Kenyan and American girls interact and learn from each other.
Goals with the program
- To through the help of chess create a cultural exchange between Kenyan and American girls.
- A mutually beneficial exchange that will lead to female empowerment, inspiration, improved chess skills, new experiences, and new friends.
For questions or to sign up for the program please contact Mrs. Judith Kiragu +254 721485493 judy.kiragu@fortemcltd.com
- A move for equality!
Isaiah outside what used to be his home in Mukuru, Kenya – The plot consists of about 10 rooms and communal toilet and bathroom This is the 15-year old kenyan talent Isaiah Otieno. Isaiah is from the Mukuru Kwa Njenga slum that is an area with extreme poverty. Through his intellect and hard work he has managed to become a top junior in chess, as well as one of the best students in the country. In fact he is number 2 in his region, only beaten by his brother! Abdul Malik. Thus we are delighted to help Isaiah and his family to a better life, by allocating them in a real, furnished flat where they are comfortable and can nurture their talent. And of course Isaiah will get a laptop with chessbase installed plus a coach so he can improve. Mukuru is full of smart talents that needs a stable environment and acceptable living conditions, help us to help them!
BIO: Isaiah Otieno Oluoch
DOB: 06 June 2005
Now 15 yearsBorn in Mukuru Kwa Njenga Slum, in the outskirts of Nairobi. Until recently, on his 15th birthday, he and his family were moved to a 2 bedroom flat in Tena Estate, with much better amenities as we wait for the desired house, a 3 Bedroom Bungalow at Kariobangi South. In the words of his father, ‘It is a million times better’, than the single room the family shared at the slum, with one bathroom for the plot (several households).
Isaiah inside his old house in Mukuru Family: Total 8, 4 boys and 2 girls.
Father : Peter Oluoch Aguk – 38yrs – Casual Laboror, currently unemployed
Mother – Ruth Achieng Oluoch – 33 years, Sells vegetables in Mukuru
Marylyn Hiky – 19yrs, just cleared high school, helps mother at the vegetable stand
Emmanuel Oduor – 18yrs Currently in form 3, Swaminarayan High School, Moved from Langata High School due to fee challenges.
Triza Achieng – 17 years Currently in form 3 Swaminarayan High School, also moved from Moi Girls Vokoli Girls High School due to School fee constraints.
Isiah – 15yrs – Mangu High School, form 1 – This is among the best KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Exam) 408marks out of 500. Top in his school and among the best in the country.
Abdul Malik – 15yrs – Scored 418 Marks in KCPE 2019, one of the best students in the country, was drafted to a top school Kapsabet High School – National School. Father intends to relocate him to another school due to school fees challenges. Nehemiah Williams – 2 Months baby
Isaiah outside their new flat in Tena Estate Chess
– Isaiah learnt chess in 2015 at the age of 9, through Sports Outreach Ministry (SOM) which started a chess club at Carson Academy, formally Nairobi Slum Project school (Redroof). SOM provided meals for the kids aged 5-14 years and introduced Chess as one of the programs. Chess worked well as playgrounds are non-existent in the slum. He was very hardworking and was among the best few that represented the club in tournaments.
Unlike his peers from the affluent part of town, he has achieved well despite several challenges including:
– Never owned a chess board (until he met us!)
– Started playing on chess.com in 2020, thanks to his mother’s phone
– Used to have beginner book
– Not read any advanced books
– No direct coaching, at Redroof Erick Oyugi and Josphat Owila, taught the 80+ club how to play
With Julie Gichuru, Dr Victor Ngani and Sarah Momanyi during a Business Meets Chess & Kids event.
Awards:
– Winka Academy 2018 Best Boy U14
– Brookhurst U14 winner
– Nairobi Southlands u14 Winnner
– Mukuru Junior Chess Championships winner u12 and u14 Boys- He has been top 3 in over a dozen other events.
Inside his home in Tena with one of his trophies National:
– Vihiga 2018 Under14 Category – Joint 2nd
– Nyeri 2018 U14 – Joint 2ndIsaiahs big goal is to become a Grandmaster and just like he predicted when he was 10, chess will transform his life!
- Building Minds with Chess
We are very proud to announce that our short movie Building Minds with Chess created by Ken Mask and Marshall Woodworth featuring Grandmaster Pontus Carlsson was selected for the best short movie in New Orleans Film Festival.
BUILDING MINDS WITH CHESS USA | 2020 | 10 MIN DIR: KEN MASK
Explores the possibilities of engaging children and young teenagers through exercising certain parts of their brain through the game of chess.
Watch the trailer here:
You can support Business Meets Chess & Kids by purchasing the full movie through this link: PURCHASE FILM
- Business Meets Chess & Kids May 18 2019
4 happy Winners! It was a fun afternoon at Morphys Chess & Culture Center, that created alot of interesting meetings, brought down many laughs and created many new friendship relations. Thanks to Leila D’aquin and Chess Nola for hosting us, Kendric Perkins and Strategic Thoughts for running the tournament, David and Maureen Grimaud for the pictures and Ken Mask for all his efforts, and a big thank you to all participants for joining us and making the event so successful. Chess is fun!
- Tandem Chess Tournament in New Orleans on May 18th
On May 18th between 2 and 4.30 PM we will organize a tandem chess tournament at the Morphy Chess & Culture Center 4714B Earhart Blvd. The tandem chess tournament will see business leaders like Pres Kabacoff, MD Greg Ward, Mark P. Glago and Leila A. D’Aquin play tandem chess together with kids from all areas of New Orleans. Join us today! To sign up please contact Ken Mask (504)908-0337
- Chess Workshops in New Orleans Register Now!
- Grandmaster Pontus Carlsson visits New Orleans!Grandmaster Pontus Carlsson will be in New Orleans between the 14th and 19th of October to launch the Business Meets Chess & Kids program with some exciting events!
- ScheduleSee the schedule here:
- Press ReleaseINTERNATIONAL CHESS GRANDMASTER PONTUS CARLSSON VISITS NEW ORLEANS TO UNVEIL NEW PROGRAM TO HELP KIDS NEW ORLEANS, La., Oct. 13 – GM Pontus Carlsson is embarking on a new and ambitious program using chess to help underprivileged kids learn strategy and critical thinking to solve life problems. Pontus, a duel citizen of Sweden and Colombia, has over 25 years of experience teaching chess throughout Europe and has used his skills to win the Swedish Championship 12 times! BUSINESS MEETS CHESS AND KIDS is a project that creates mutually beneficial meetings across the board by connecting business executives and kids from underprivileged areas of the city. Please join us at these events: School Workshop: Monday, October 15 at Patrick F. Talyor School, 701 Churchill Parkway in Avondale at 2:30pm, Public Tandem Simul: Wednesday, October 17 at the French Market Food Court at 11am, Chess Duel and Business Social: 2nd Vine Wine, 1027 Touro Street, 7pm and Community Workshop: Thursday, October 18, The Lyons Center, 624 Louisiana Avenue at 6pm. OUR GOAL, we will work with kids from schools and chess clubs in the greater New Orleans area initially then hopefully spreading across the nation. Each participating youth will get a chess set, access to chess application and membership in a chess club so they can practice chess and through the project develop their concentration abilities, problem solving, calculation skills, as well as logical and critical thinking. These abilities will be very beneficial in chess and life. “I would recommend any player master level and below to take advantage of GM Pontus years of experience, coaching abilities, and clear explanation of each phase of chess.” (Glenn Bady US Master) For more information please contact Media Relations Ken Mask 504.908.0337 kenmaskmd@gmail.com Pontus Carlsson p.carlssonchess@gmail.com Taurusm Bailey taurusmbailey@gmail.com
