Founder's Report - 7 Years Later

Dear Friends,

7 Years ago --- I, Russell Makofsky (Coach Russ) along with a small group of dedicated coaches (Coach Angel, Coach Nash, Coach Aaron), launched ICN. Our program included three original schools (PS 33, PS 11 and PS 59) and several hundred students along with our good friends who joined us each Saturday at G & T Quads which welcomed players and teams from across public, private and charter schools in NYC and beyond.

The first thing we did was create a simple statement defining who we were and who we wanted to be...Impact Coaching Network.

"A Unique Team-First Training Approach Dedicated to Building Vibrant Chess Communities & Delivering Measurable Chess Success."

Today that small group of dedicated coaches (Coach Angel, Coach Nash, Coach Aaron and Coach Russ) are still as inspired as we were 7 years ago and that simple message still sits at the top of our website as it has for the past 7 years.

Some things have changed along the way. Our small group of dedicated coaches has grown and now includes over 60 teammates who are now led by a team of dedicated Network Directors, Network Coaches, and support staff. Ian West has taken the lead as our overall Program Director, Coach Nash as the Director of Operations and Coach Angel, Coach Alexis, Coach Logan, Coach Eddie and Coach Jenny, lead the way as Network Directors. Our growth has been significant, including nearly 30 partner school programs, reaching thousands of weekly students, all of whom are cherished members of our community.

Students that we first met in elementary school are now graduating high school and college and several of them have even joined us as full-time staff.

We clearly remember our 1st trip to a national championship where we brought 40 players and placed several teams into the Top 10 in the USA. This year we brought nearly 300 players, winning 4 Team National Championship sections along with 23 Top 10 finishes.

For me, this entire process can be described as an opportunity. For me it's been an opportunity to wake up in the morning and be inspired every day, share what I love; for others it's an opportunity to be a part of a community; for others it's an opportunity to learn important life skills; for others it's an opportunity to work hard towards something and be good; for others it's an opportunity to be included. For each of us, chess represents an opportunity.

March 16th 2019 (my birthday), I was featured in a NY Times article sharing the story of our student Tanitoluwa Adewumi and how chess provided him an opportunity, while living in a homeless shelter after fleeing his country as a refugee. Shortly after learning the game of chess through his school program at PS 116, Tani was provided the opportunity to join his schools’ chess team at PS 116. Shortly after that he competed in his 1st chess tournament earning him his 1st rating of 101. That summer Tani had the opportunity to join us each day during summer camp and his play quickly improved. Fast forward to the following March of 2019, Tani placed 1st at The New York State Chess Championship. This all happened while he was still living in a homeless shelter. The global community quickly rallied to support Tani and shortly he was given his own home and access to many opportunities that continue to this day.

For the first time something struck me. We had given opportunities to so many kids in our chess program across NYC. Chess could be a very powerful tool for opportunity. Could we build on that and provide more opportunities to more people globally through the game of chess?

Fast forward to the pandemic, where we kept our chess players and teams engaged for well over 1.5 years using remote tools and learning. What became clear was that our community missed being together. Even though they were able to learn and play well online, they missed the connections that chess creates and the opportunities to be together.

We ordered 10,000 chess sets from China and committed to giving each one of our students their own chess set. This way they could take what they had been learning virtually and share it physically in their own communities, fostering much needed human interaction.

We called it The Gift of Chess.

Fast forward to today and The Gift of Chess is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) charity impacting lives globally through building greater opportunities through the game of chess.

To date we have provided 1,000 plus chess sets to the USA, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Sudan, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Seychelles, and Zimbabwe with each country in Africa to follow (we currently have 50,000 chess sets in Africa).

When we talk about opportunity...when you give someone access to a single chess set, you are empowering them with a tool to create opportunity in their own community and be a part of the change.

We have a vibrant multilingual after school chess community in our Times Square drop in center and are seeing champions made.

In Portland, Maine we started a small club in a shelter housing asylum seekers and are now hosting weekly free tournaments to expand the opportunity to many others across the city.

Throughout the state of Kansas, through our partnership with the Department of Corrections, you can find incarcerated people learning and competing, building skills and critical thinking, preparing them for a life on the other side.

Along we have also gained support from corporate sponsors including JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Davis Polk to name a few.

I believe in the power of chess; many of you have also experienced the power of chess first hand. Let's do something special together as a community. What started in our community right here in NYC is now having a profound impact on the world.

I have spent the last three years working tirelessly on this project. I have left no stone unturned and put my entire heart into this idea.

I am pleased to announce that going forward, I along with our Board of Directors of The Gift of Chess have named Susan Namangale as our Global Head. She will be given our full support and the best of our resources to lead us towards our goal of donating 1,000,000 chess sets by 2030.

Susan brings nearly three decades of experience, beginning with her humble background growing up in a little-known village of Chombo in Nkhotakota, Malawi to becoming the only female Federation President in Africa during her time. During her chess leadership in Malawi, Susan attained National Sports Awards for 3 consecutive years as the best administrator and Sports Council chairman's excellence award. Susan brings with her Project Management experience having worked in various international institutions in Malawi supporting projects to minimize adverse impacts on communities. Susan holds an MBA, postgraduate diplomas in Management, Marketing and Finance and BSC in Environmental Science. We are excited and believe that she will use her skills, leadership, and passion for chess to lead our The Gift of Chess mission to use chess as a low-cost and yet impactful catalyst to expand opportunities globally. Alongside our incredible team of leaders, ambassadors, volunteers and supporters, Susan will help lead us strategically in our shared goal of distribution of 1,000,000 chess sets globally by 2030.

ICN was built through blood, sweat and tears and a relentless commitment to what we believe. The Gift of Chess is built on that foundation, with the dream of expanding that same opportunity to many more.

When we first founded The Gift of Chess, many of you donated in support of helping us launch. We are now looking for 1,000 builders to support us monthly (regardless of how big or small). This will provide the base of resources we need to reach our goal of 1,000,000 chess sets by 2030.

As a father of three, founder of ICN and founder of The Gift of Chess, please watch the video below, support us, share this with friends and family and let's use the game of chess which we all love to be an opportunity catalyst that can change the world!

The Gift of Chess is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Become a Builder

Yours Truly,

Russell Makofsky

Board of Directors:

Tunde Onakoya
Michael Shuman
Ian West
Rochelle Ballantyne
Ryan Rodrigues
Tom Snow
Tyrone Davis
Russell Makofsky
Corey Jacobs

Join Susan and Build with The Gift of Chess.

The Gift of Chess is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization transforming lives through our universal language of chess.

For more information please visit our website: www.thegiftofchess.org

We distribute chess sets globally, leveraging chess as a low-cost high-impact catalyst for opportunity. Our key initiatives include education, prison, and refugee outreach. Our goal is to donate 1,000,000 chess sets globally by 2030 through donating 1,000 plus chess sets to each country globally. We are asking 1,000 people globally to become BUILDERS and make a commitment to supporting us on a monthly basis.

$10 - Build a Chess Set (1 Set)

$50 - Build a Chess Program (5 Sets)

$150 - Build a Chess Community (3 Chess Programs)

The Gift of Chess is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Become a Builder

Make a one time donation

About The Gift of Chess.

The Gift of Chess is a 501(C)(3) charitable organization transforming lives through our universal language of chess. We distribute chess sets globally, leveraging chess as a low-cost high-impact catalyst, igniting opportunity and releasing human potential. Our key initiatives include education, prison, and refugee outreach.

To date we have manufactured over 75,000 chess sets for global distribution. Our goal is to distribute 1,000,000 chess sets globally by 2030.