Winka Academy

It is the only school in Eastern and Central Africa offering Scholarly Chess as a subject from Standard 1-8

Ms Beatrice Kimondo could not believe her eyes when she looked at her son’s report card for the first term in March this year. Nine-year-old Elvins, who had been struggling with his studies, had made exceptionally good progress. His marks, especially in mathematics and English, were unbelievable.

The previous term, the Standard Four pupil had scored 48 per cent in Maths and 60 per cent in English. But the report card in her hand showed that Elvins had scored 80 per cent in Maths and 75 per cent in English.
Curious about just how he had made such remarkable progress, Ms Kimondo went to his school to seek an explanation. What she learnt further amazed her. The teachers at Winka Academy informed her that chess was behind her son’s academic turnaround; his grades had steadily improved after he started playing the game at the beginning of the year.

“I simply could not believe it. Elvins had trouble with his studies as well as concentrating, but after he started playing chess, things changed. He had fewer problems with his studies, his concentration improved, and he also became creative,” Ms Kimondo said.

Located in Nairobi’s South C, the school with a population of just 132 pupils, has changed the face of learning in the country.
In Africa, South Africa is perhaps the only other country with a similar programme, referred to as mini chess, while globally, European Union countries, Uruguay, China and Japan are among the 30 or so countries that include chess in their education systems.
At Winka Academy, chess is taught like any other subject and is allocated time in the timetable...

A homeless 8-year-old, who learned to play a year ago, is now a New York chess champion

Against the odds, a young Nigerian immigrant proved that hard work pays off.
Tanitoluwa (Tani) Adewumi, a third grader at P.S. 116 in New York, has won the New York State Scholastic Primary Championship in his age bracket.

That's already an impressive feat in itself, but 8-year-old Tani only learned to play chess about a year ago.
Tani and his family of four fled northern Nigeria in June 2017, worried about attacks by the extremist group Boko Haram, his dad Kayode Adewumi told CNN.
The family stayed in a New York homeless shelter, where Tani kept the chess trophies he has racked up.
Shawn Martinez, chess coach at P.S. 116, recruited Tani to join the chess program.

"(Tani's) very tactical. His memory's great," Martinez told CNN's "New Day."
But it's more than sheer talent that propelled Tani to victory. He puts in the time to hone his craft and practices every day, his dad said.
"The average kids do 50 to 100 puzzles a week. (Tani) does like 500 puzzles a week," Martinez said.
 
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We’re smarter and more attentive now, and it is all because of chess!

A homeless 8-year-old, who learned to play a year ago, is now a New York chess champion