Knights of the South Bronx Movie
Knights of the South Bronx is a 2005 television film about a teacher who helps students at a tough inner-city school to succeed by teaching them to play chess. The movie is based on the life & times of David MacEnulty who taught schoolchildren of the Bronx Community Elementary School 70 to play at competition level, eventually winning the New York City and the New York State Chess Championships. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBCLUTCRM9w)
I enjoy how the teacher, Richard Mason (Ted Danson) explains chess to his students. Some quotes:
"We are a very specialized army, and our job is to stay alive and take down the other king."
"She [the Queen] is both deadly and beautiful. She is the most powerful piece on the board. The only problem is everyone is trying to kill her."
"Playing chess is like taking your brain to the gym."
"If you can win a game of chess, no one can call you stupid."
"[The bishop] is a very quiet sneaky guy. He travels fast and moves on a slant."
"The pawn is the bravest piece on the board. They look small and weak, but the truth is the pawn fears nothing."
On tournaments: "You can feel the players plotting how to destroy each other. There is so much tension it feels like you are waiting for a bomb to explode."
From https://www.skoleskak.dk/oldsite/nyheder/2005/december/1203.htm
The kids eventually compete in their first tournament against other kids from an obviously privileged school. Most of the Bronx kids play poorly, because they got distracted from the environment in the room. One explains to Mason how intimidated he was by their opponents' fancy school uniforms and chess club wristwatch. Mason explains that when it comes to playing chess, their outward appearance and social status do not matter. More quotes:
"The mind makes chess a level playing field. You are all equals here."
"Chess doesn't care if you're poor and from the Bronx or black or Puerto Rican or even if your daddy's in prison."
"Losing is one of the best things that can happen to a chess player."
"When I sit down at that table, I feel strong, powerful, like nothing can stop me. So when I play, I play to win."
"You have to look inside you at that thing that scares you. because inside what scares you is what saves you every time. Find it. Name it. Teach it how to play chess."
In an OTB game, has your opponent's appearance or social status ever affected your playing performance? Do you or have you ever been in a school chess club with a coach or teacher who helped you improve your game, your schoolwork, or inspired the rest of your life?
To not spoil the rest of the movie, I will end the blog post here. You can watch it yourself using the link above. Let me know what you think of the movie in the comments below.
