Draft:Chess4Life

Chess4Life, LLC was founded in 2006 by National Master Elliott Neff, who tied for 6th place. in the Denker Tournament of High School Champions in 1993 and for 7th in 1994. The mission of Chess4Life is to teach children life skills through the game. According to their website, their goal is to impact 1,000,000 youth through chess.

According to news reports about Chess4Life, the company aims to develop children's life skills through chess. The company points to chess as a tool for early math success as well as cognitive skills and academic success generally , especially in disadvantaged communities. Outside of academic skills, Chess4Life seeks to help children develop psychologically, including in socioemotional skills and executive functioning skills.

Queen of Katwe
After the release of the book the Queen of Katwe, Phiona Mutesi met Chess4Life founder Elliott Neff while visiting the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a charity event. According to Elliott Neff, he became inspired by Mutesi's story. Neff began coaching Mutesi while she was visiting the United States, then continued virtually when she returned to Uganda. This training helped Mutesi achieve her stated goals in the 2014 World Chess Olympiad.

While coaching Mutesi, Neff became connected with Mutesi's lesser-known Ugandan chess teammate Benjamin Mukumbya. Neff provided chess coaching to Mukumbya through Chess4Life as well.

Chess4Life gained further media attention after the release of Disney's Queen of Katwe movie. Founder Elliott Neff attended the red carpet premiere of the film alongisde Mutesi. Local chess students were later given opportunities to meet Mutesi and Mukumbya through Chess4Life events.

Chess4Life continues their global efforts to teach children life skills through chess by partnering with organizations, such as the SOM Chess Academy in Uganda.

Services
Chess4Life offers a variety of chess-based services. Historically, the Washington State based company had four physical centers located in Bellevue, Issaquah, Mill Creek, and Redmond, WA. The four centers closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two centers, in Bellevue and Issaquah, have now reopened and offer chess classes at various levels of difficulty as well as day camp opportunities throughout the year.

Chess4Life also offers virtual chess classes online at various levels of difficulty. Groups of students are paired with coaches, who teach chess and life skills using the Chess4Life curriculum. Additionally, Chess4Life's services include licensing and training opportunities, chess quad tournaments, and local chess tournaments which are incorporated into various schools and cities around the United States, as well as one juvenile justice center