Dear Chess Families & Friends,

Coach West here, and it's time for Thankful Thursday! We look forward to Thursday each week because it gives us an opportunity to connect with you all about your experiences with us & with chess, but this week I wanted to share my own message of thanks.

I started the PS 139 Ninja Chess Team back in 2003, we started attending the National Championship and other travel events in 2004, and it wasn't long before we recorded our first championship, when Rochelle Ballantyne and her friends brought back the All-Girls National Under 10 title in 2006.

Since then, I've been very privileged to see a long list of amazing kids come through our club and shine, and then been very happy to watch them graduate and go on to do great things. This came back to me this last week in a dazzling way when a former student posted a video on YouTube. (Part two followed here.)

Many kids from our clubs and camps know Malcolm Galpern-Levin. He joined the PS 139 Team in 2008, and is graduating from Brooklyn Tech this year. He has become a pillar of our chess community in Brooklyn, even as he prepares to start college in the fall. And he has added an incredible set of videos to our growing collection of supplementary chess content.

I'm extremely thankful to be able to work with your children every day, and to watch as future stars are born and develop their talents. I'm thankful to be a part of your lives, and to be able to be a part of your stories. I look forward to seeing you soon as we compete again in the future and triumph together!

Starting with our End of Year Championship Series! - I look forward to seeing you at the ICN All Girls Championship on Sunday, May 24!

Please send us your memories and reflections to ICNOnlineCommunity@gmail.com, and we'll post them throughout the day.

Thanks so much,

Coach West

Daily Message from Coach West - Thankful Thursdays