Yankee Stadium Hosts BX Invitational Chess Tournament For Students In The Bronx

The New York Yankees and Project Pawn on Tuesday hosted the second annual “The BX Invitational” chess tournament at Yankee Stadium for students from across the Bronx.

Project Pawn was founded by Abdul Sulaiman Jr. and Christopher Johnson, former chess teammates in NYC Community School District 9. Project Pawn is focused on using chess to help youth “strategically plan their future,” and partnered with District 9 Superintendent Harry Sherman to implement the chess program in the district.

“Project Pawn started as two partners, two kids that grew up and played on the same chess team, had a passion for chess, wanted to get out of the neighborhood and experience things, got good at it, competed, and then figured out something to do as we got older,” said Project Pawn co-founder Abdul Sulaiman Jr. “We were just two kids that thought, like, how do we pay it forward? How do we give back to the next generation of kids?”

The tournament saw some 200 students from across the Bronx compete across three divisions: elementary school, middle school and high school. Students played condensed, competitive matches, and each division named first, second and third place winners, with all nine winners taking home trophies.

“This is amazing for our kids from across the Bronx,” said Sherman. “They’re here in Yankee Stadium participating in a real, ranked chess tournament. We’ve got kids from third grade all the way up to high school from every district, from our charter networks, just coming together to celebrate their brilliance and their excellence, and it means so much that they get to do it here in Yankee Stadium, in the home of the heroes.”

Each participating student received a medal and a t-shirt at the event.

“These kids are amazing,” said Haley Steinbrenner Swindal, Ambassador, Community Affairs, New York Yankees. “We are just so excited to have them here today. They’re incredible.”

Students at the event were excited to put their skills to the test and measure their progress.

“Chess is not like an easy thing you can just pick it up and be the best player. It takes time and a lot of critical thinking,” said Sebastian De LaCruz, an eighth-grade student from The Highbridge Green School. “Chess can take you anywhere in the world. It could take you to a lot of places.”