Looming Stalemate for Young Chess Kings

The chess team at I.S. 318 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has dominated national chess championships for the past 10 years. They practice over 12 hours a week and have won more championships than any other school in the country. Last year, this junior high team took home the trophy at the U.S. Chess Federation’s national high school championships. If you do one thing today, watch the trailer for the documentary telling their story, Brooklyn Castle.

Fred Wilson alerted us that the I.S. 318 chess program is in danger. Five years ago, the chess program lost all public funding, and has survived with the support of a few private donors. Eighty percent of the students attending I.S. 318 come from low-income families. Despite all of these challenges, members of the team continue to succeed on and off the board, earning both trophies and college scholarships. One student featured in the documentary just received a full scholarship to Stanford.

My colleagues and I love the idea of a school where students on the chess team are the “cool kids.” We worked with teachers at the school to create a project on DonorsChoose.org for everything that the chess program needs for the school year, from chessboards to tournament travel costs.

Check out their project. These students have already overcome incredible odds, and we can help them continue their 10-year winning streak.