Jack Heller, 17, a junior at Walter Payton College Prep High School, learned to play chess from his father when he was just 4. He started competing in chess tournaments when he reached double digits. Santino Vega, 15, a freshman at Eric Solorio Academy High School in Gage Park, is a more recent fan of the game, but he now opts to play chess with his 10-year-old brother instead of video games.
Both teens were among the first cohort of six Chicago Public Schools students who traveled to Ghana on behalf of the Chicago Chess Foundation to teach and play the game with Ghanaian students.
Vega, a Gage Park resident, and Heller, a Jefferson Park resident, were joined by fellow CCF high school youth leaders Briana Moya of Portage Park, Mia Rafael of Austin, Sam Hoppenworth of Edgewater and Rayan Khattabi of Jefferson Park.
CCF provides chess instruction, training and competitive opportunities to Chicago students. Each year, it hosts free tournaments across the city, reaching thousands of children. Sponsored by a grant from the U.S. Embassy in Ghana, the trip from March 30 to April 8 was designed to promote cross-cultural understanding among youths in both countries.
Chicagoans held competitions for Ghanaian students and hosted a free chess festival for adults and children during the visit, while Ghanaian hosts took American youths to the capital city of Accra and Cape Coast Castle, an infamous way station in the slave trade. CPS students learned about African drumming, learned how to give a proper hello with a handshake and snap and learned the art of negotiating with vendors.
Ghana was in its rainy season, and the students endured 90 degree weather daily.
“There are so many differences with the climate, and the city life was much busier than Chicago,” Heller said. “The people there were very similar to us. I didn’t know what to expect. But it was very awesome to be around everyone there.”
The aspiring veterinarian said CCF has been important in his development, given chess helps players work on their critical thinking and strategizing skills.
Matthew Kearney, executive director of the Chicago Chess Foundation, said the game is gaining in popularity and the chess community in Chicago is quite large.
“The game of chess introduced us to kids in Ghana, but also to people from our own communities that we wouldn’t have otherwise crossed paths with,” Kearney said. “(For) our tournaments, we do invite players from all across Chicagoland. Our summer camps and our school programs are targeting youth in Chicago, specifically in underserved neighborhoods. The schools that we serve have an average population of 83% low-income students. We’re seeking out the schools that wouldn’t otherwise have the resources, opportunity or buy-in from the community to have the chess programs.”
Vega’s mom, Elisa Cervantes, said although she was nervous about sending her middle child out of the country, the trip brought out the best in the Chicago contingent. After Vega toured the castle, he came back with more knowledge than when he left, she said.
“He knows what it’s like to stand on that land instead of just seeing it in a textbook,” Kearney said.
Heller’s mom, Nicolle Heller, said Jack came back home saying “please” and “thank you.”
“He wants to go back in another group,” she said. “He wants to host Ghanaian people in Chicago.”
The Ghana-Chicago Chess Exchange endeavor began in February 2021, and brought the students together online each month to compete in a chess tournament and to participate in virtual breakout sessions where they discussed their cultures. The partnership that started during the pandemic was a way to engage youth and “have them feel a sense of connection at a time when we were all disconnected,” Kearney said.
“The whole trip was with BASICS (International), a community group that supports women and children from the impoverished community called Chorkor,” he said.
BASICS ran a chess program and promoted youth interest through the years.
“The Chicago Chess Foundation, a nonprofit that started in 2015 to bring the game to elementary schools, evolved,” Kearney said. “During the pandemic, we were looking for ways to continue to engage students past elementary school into high school, and that’s what this group is. We started a Chess Leaders program, where we decided we would take those youth that had a passion for chess, wanted to stay involved in the communities that we created and teach them leadership development. Every month at our K-8 tournaments, we have these high schoolers as role models for the ones coming up. It’s been going on for three years now … and a trip to Ghana definitely makes (chess) a little more popular.”
Kearney wants the exchange to become bigger and better now that the inaugural trip is behind them. He says his favorite part of the trip was seeing the Chicago students step out of their comfort zones and build relationships through chess. With the success of this trip, the organization already has the paperwork in to go to Ghana next year, Kearney said.
“We’re also hoping to cultivate some support and enthusiasm so that we can reciprocate the exchange, bring the Ghanaian youth here for a tournament,” Kearney said. “This (trip) was just getting the ball rolling … not just a one-off thing.”
For more information about the Ghana-Chicago Chess Exchange, go to chicagochessfoundation.org.
