Ted was surprised to find out that the best under-15 chess player in Canada was attending his school. In talking to him about why the student hadn’t joined the chess club, the boy admitted he would not be challenged. What happened next was the watershed event that led to the philosophical foundation of Chess Institute of Canada.

“We need five players on the tournament team,” Ted said to this boy. “Although I would love for you to be one of them, what I would really like is for you to be the coach.” Excited by this new challenge, the boy agreed. He ably coached and played first board, leading the team to a first-place win.

As Ted reflected on how he had helped this young player grow into a leadership role, he realized how many other life-changing skills his chess program was imparting to students: perseverance, perspective, learning from mistakes, finding one’s best move before committing to it, managing emotions, winning with grace, losing with dignity, respecting one’s opponents, and learning to be a positive role model. Ted realized that chess can help children acquire the personal and social skills to become successful in life. 

Making Magic With Chess

After the championship win, Ted began receiving requests from other schools to teach chess. Beyond producing winning teams, Ted grew increasingly convinced that the real value he had been providing was changing lives. In 2002, Ted began to promote his program in schools in this way: “If I told you this is a tutoring program which will significantly improve your child’s reading, math, logic and problem-solving skills, focus an ADD kid, humble a braggart, boost the self-esteem and confidence of a shy child, and teach the real-world skills of learning from mistakes, thinking before acting, and showing consideration for others—and your child will love this course and see it as fun—you would agree it is magic.” In the following video—Chess is Awesome—Ted further explains the “magic” of his chess program.