Chess For Seniors: The Story
Hello everyone,
It's been a while since I've made my last post. Today, we're doing something a little different and a little more personal. For the past few years, I've been developing a program called Chess For Seniors, and recently, we just got approved to become an official 501c(3) nonprofit! But before we get into all of that, let's start from the beginning...
It was the fall of 2019. As a young 14-year-old boasting a rating of 2100 USCF, I was getting closer and closer to reaching my lifetime goal: the National Master (NM) title. As I was only 100 rating points away, I spent almost all my time studying, playing, and preparing for tournaments. As the time went on, I found that it was getting a little repetitive, and that at least at the time, I was slowly losing the burning passion for competitive chess that had fueled me for the last 6-7 years.
Growing up, I learned most of my fundamental understanding of the game at local chess clubs. These clubs, including the Westfield and West Orange Chess Clubs, helped me flourish into the player I am today. Now, many years later, I wished for a way to give back, to show my appreciation for the vital role these clubs played in my development as a young chess player. I'd learned while browsing the web for sources for my 6th-grade english class essay that chess helps develop your brain and improve problem-solving ability. Interesting, I thought. After all, chess is a strategic, analytical game. It checks out. Then I found out that this was particularly true among the elderly population, and that being introduced to the game of chess can help prevent the onset of various diseases, like dementia. As someone whose family has a history of Alzheimer's, this struck close to home. So I decided to take action.
In November of 2019, I reached out to my town's senior activity coordinator. She was extremely eager to help and together, we started hosting classes. Held every week in the local library, I taught 6 eager seniors the basics of chess: how to move, the rules, basic strategy, etc. And so Chess For Seniors was born.
We all know what happened next. No, it's not that I finally got my NM title in January of 2020, I'm not that self-centered. COVID broke out in early 2020, causing schools across the US to shut down and countries around the world to go into lockdown. As I sat at home, attending my now-virtual school lessons, I thought about what had happened. I'd never experienced a pandemic like this before, and for the most part, no one had either. Chess For Seniors seemed doomed. Everyone was in lockdown; how could we possibly hold any in-person classes?
That's when it hit me: we don't have to hold in-person classes! I immediately got to work. I designed and hosted our official website, chessforseniors.org. Then, I signed up for a Zoom premium membership. After enlisting the help of some friends and both my parents, we gathered a list of other 1000 senior centers across the country. We emailed all of them, advertising our first online session of beginner-level classes, to be held in fall of 2020.
It was a massive success.
Over 20 people signed up, causing our first class to overflow. In response, I quickly expanded our team, enlisting the help of two more instructors. After the first session concluded, we launched our new class, at the intermediate level. Slowly but surely, we had more and more participants in our classes. Our reach and impact were truly being realized at a national level.
Fast forward to today. Our team is now 8 members strong, and we have taught over 200 seniors across 12 states in just online classes alone. We're currently expanding to more activity centers in NJ, in an attempt to have a more personal impact on a local level. We're also looking to hold classes in other countries, like Canada and Mexico, potentially in other languages like Spanish, French, and Mandarin (Chinese).
So that's what I've been up to for the past few years. I know I haven't posted much, and I'll try to get back on schedule. I hope you all enjoyed the story, and perhaps are inspired to help give back yourselves! I've put a few important links regarding Chess For Seniors below, in case you're interested in learning more. That's it from me, I hope you all have a wonderful day! 
Website: chessforseniors.org. You can read our full story, see our team members, register for classes, and find contact and FAQ information on our official website.
GoFundMe: While our classes are free and will always be free, we do have major costs to cover to amount to over $400 USD a year. Any help is greatly appreciated.
In case you're curious, here are some links to research papers/studies that have shown the health benefits of playing chess:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6617066/
https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/27306/20200915/10-things-playing-chess-brain.htm
