Eight-year-old Jamaican chess prodigy and present Nationwide Underneath-8 Chess Champion, Jayden Hylton, is making daring strikes — not simply throughout the chessboard, however in communities the place alternative is scarce. With the help of worldwide and nationwide companions, Jayden proudly launches the Chess in Communities program — an initiative designed to introduce the highly effective recreation of chess to kids in grassroots communities who wouldn’t usually have entry to the game.
The official launch will happen on Sunday, July 6, 2025, at 2:00 PM, on the Jamaica Defence Pressure Headquarters in Kingston. This landmark occasion will welcome the primary cohort of scholars and their mother and father, together with college principals from six main faculties in East Kingston and Port Royal, authorities representatives, and main figures within the native and worldwide chess group.
Jayden, a scholar, mentor, and rising chess star, is already educating college students weekly by means of each in-person periods and on-line platforms, supported by a staff of licensed chess instructors and arbiters. The initiative is backed by notable organizations, together with the World Chess Federation (FIDE), Jamaica Defence Pressure, Jamaica Hearth Brigade, and VisaHub of Jamaica Restricted.
“Chess teaches us to assume earlier than we make selections,” Jayden shared. “We solely have one life — just like the ‘King’ on the chessboard — so we should make each resolution rely.”
The Chess in Communities program goals to construct crucial considering, self-discipline, and decision-making abilities amongst younger Jamaicans, utilizing chess as a device for empowerment and social transformation.
The occasion is predicted to function notable attendees, together with:
-
Representatives from the Jamaica Olympic Affiliation, INSPORTS, and the Jamaica Chess Federation
-
FIDE Council Member Ian Wilkinson, KC
-
Jamaica’s high Nationwide Underneath-12 Chess Gamers
-
The Minister of Tradition & Sports activities
-
Members of Parliament and native councillors from East Kingston and Port Royal
“Chess is greater than a recreation; it’s a platform for growing younger minds and creating new prospects for our communities,” stated Ian Wilkinson, KC, FIDE Council Member.
As this inspiring initiative will get underway, it alerts a brand new chapter within the grassroots growth of chess in Jamaica — one the place kids from all walks of life are inspired to assume strategically, consider in themselves, and make sensible strikes for a brighter future.
