Chess with Donovan R.

First introduced to the game of chess as a child, I quickly developed a deep appreciation and advanced skill. While tutoring and mentoring youth in Newport News, Virginia, during my collegiate study, I witnessed the instantaneous attraction and powerful impact the game of chess had on children and youth of all ages. What became immediately clear and rewarding, as a coach, were the abundant opportunities for critical thinking exercise and the opportunities for challenging deep thought around the immediate impact of choices. After graduating from Hampton University in 2014, I applied my analytical skills while in the corporate sector, and later developed and facilitated college preparatory programs while working for a non-profit origination. My deep appreciation for the game and my passion for encouraging critical thinking among youth, lead me back to my love of delivering chess instruction and mentoring throughout the Chicagoland area. I began offering group and private sessions with a double-pronged approach. While his lessons aim to share the foundation and challenging practice opportunity for the game itself, I also utilize the game as a mentoring tool. I encourage participants to explore the correlation of the principals which drive the game that are analogous to the cause and effect of life choices and the causal factors impacting various success moves or challenging moves and the outcomes in the game. I hold a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification, and is a certified Local Chess Coach from the US Chess Federation.