In May, I kicked off a Premier Chess program at a middle school at an impoverished neighborhood in Brownsville, New York by asking “Why play chess?” I received some typical answers, including “It’s fun,” “It helps you think,” and “Competition is fun.” They were shocked how I explained the plastic pieces could help them get into high school, college and a good career. Chess has influenced me to become a critical thinker, conduct enterprise sales at Oracle and Rapid7, co-found a sales outsourcing startup Pillar Sales and ultimately form Premier Chess. Premier Chess teaches life lessons to all ages and levels for organizations ranging from ThistleWaithe Early Learning Center to Grace Church School to the law firm Kramer Levin to the nursing home Village Care. Jim Egerton’s Business on the Board (2016) illustrates the tactical and strategical lessons business leaders could learn through the game.
