11/28/2023 – Grandmaster Kevin Goh Wei Ming is both the CEO of the Singapore Chess Federation and an 8-time national champion at the Southeast Asian city-state. Kevin recently shared a post on X, showing his experience teaching chess at the Singapore Prison Services. IM Sagar Shah interviewed him on the topic. “Most importantly, chess has brought joy to [the inmates] in a way that perhaps serious, competitive players may never understand”. | Photos: Kevin Goh Wei Ming’s X account

10/7/2023 – Over 100 teams from 50 countries will take part in the Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners, a three-day event that starts on October 11. The championship is a part of the Chess for Freedom Program, launched two years ago to promote chess as a tool for education and social inclusion in prisons worldwide.

9/14/2022 – FIDE, jointly with the Cook County (Chicago) Sheriff’s office, will hold the second Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. The tournament is set to take place on the International Day of Education in Prison, from 13-14 October. The online event is open to male, female and youth teams representing correctional facilities. So far, prisons and correctional facilities from 20 countries have registered for the competition.

10/22/2021 – Team Mongolia became the winner of the first Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners after defeating Team Zimbabwe in the final of the biggest ever chess event among correctional facilities. In the women’s section, the Georgian team won all three matches and finished in clear first place.

10/10/2021 – Forty-three teams from 31 countries will play in the 1st Intercontinental Online Championship for Prisoners, a two-day event that starts on October 13, the International Day of Education in Prisons. The championship is a part of the “Chess for Freedom” Program, launched earlier this year.

9/8/2021 – The first Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners will take place on October 13-14, on the International Day of Education in Prison. FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola talked to ex-convict Hector Guifarro to find out how the game helped him find a second chance in life.

5/7/2021 – The International Chess Federation will hold an online conference dubbed “Chess for Freedom” on May 11th at 15:30 CET (8:30 US Central Time). The conference will present a newly launched project focused on introducing chess to prisons. This conference will feature FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, the 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and other invited guests.

1/12/2021 – The Club “Magic Extremadura Deportivo-Social” sponsors a social program called “Nuestro ajedrez reinserta” (“Our chess reintegrates”) in Extremadura, Spain. The club works in two prisons, each of them located in the capitals of the two provinces of Extremadura, Badajoz and Cáceres. Juan Antonio Montero, psychologist, director of the program and director of the Club Magic Extremadura Deportivo-Social sent us an illustrated report.

1/1/2021 – When Damion Coppedge was in prison for manslaughter, he played chess, wrote poetry, and practiced Buddhism. From prison, he sent $25 to Ugandan chess player Phiona Mutesi, which enabled her coach to open Mutesi’s first bank account. Free since 2019, Coppedge creates videos about chess, the game that he loves.