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Chess Life Online Archives New York Times on Chess, Charity and 318
Chess Life Online Archives New York Times on Chess, Charity and 318 | New York Times on Chess, Charity and 318 |
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| January 31, 2013 | |
 Popular New York Times columnist and author Nicholas D. Kristof wrote a column today, Meet The Champs, focusing on the importance of education. He illustrates his points via the achievements of middle school championship chess team IS 318, as depicted in the documentary, Brooklyn Castle. Kristof writes, This isn’t about chess. It’s about investing in kids in ways that transform their trajectories forever. The returns on capital would make Wall Street jealous. Take Rochelle Ballantyne, who was raised by a single mom from Trinidad and soared on the I.S. 318 chess team. Rochelle, now 17 and aiming to become the first African-American woman to become a chess master, has won a full scholarship to Stanford University. She’s planning to attend even though she has never visited the campus. “We were meant to break stereotypes,” Rochelle told me. “Chess isn’t something people are good at because of the color of their skin. We just really work very hard at it.” CLO has posted a number of recent articles on chess charity initiatives, including a chess benefit for autism research and a charity simul by Deepak Aaron. Read about a February 3rd charity simul for Hurricane Sandy relief in Vienna, VA http://www.chess4charity.com/ and look for further details on CLO. |