How Levy Made a Difference!

Popular chess streamer IM Levy Rozman (also known as GothamChess) did something really special for the chess community this year. While schools and chess programs were struggling to return to over-the-board chess after the pandemic, Levy announced that he would be giving away $100,000 to school chess teams to help them bounce back and fund lessons, equipment, and travel to national tournaments. He set up the Levy Rozman Scholarship Fund and allowed school chess teams to apply for funding in the 2021-22 school year. 

This unparalleled generosity resulted in numerous school chess teams traveling to National Elementary, Middle, and High School and All-Girls Nationals in the spring of 2022. Along the way, some of these teams brought home state chess championship awards, and all expressed their gratitude to Levy for his incredible support.

Here are some of the scholarship-winning schools and how they used their funds:

Competing at National Tournaments

All-Girls Nationals - Chicago, IL

Gabrielle Moshier is a coach and teacher to students at Esperanza Charter Academy in Philadelphia, which has a vibrant chess program. Her girls competed at All-Girls Nationals in Chicago and at High School Nationals in Memphis. Although they were nervous at first, they really blossomed. Junior Diany Reyes stated, “No one here looks like us.” By the end of the second round they were going over games with opponents, making new friends, and meeting chess superstars like WGM Jennifer Shahade. Multiple coaches told Moshier how impressed they were with the Esperanza team’s confidence and kindness. It’s scholarships like Levy’s that allow kids like the Esperanza chess team to show the world what they can do.

Pictured (L to R): WGM Jen Shahade, Jocelyn Machaquiza-Iza, Giovanni Cortes, and Gabrielle Moshier.

 “Without this scholarship, Esperanza Academy Charter School would not have been able to attend either Nationals. The costs can be overwhelming; entry fees, hotel rooms, plane tickets, food…. and for many of our players, it’s their first time leaving Philadelphia. But they worked so hard this year, studying and preparing. They deserved to compete at Nationals! I’m so filled with joy, not only that they got to experience the world and world of chess, but that the world got to experience them.”

– Gabrielle L. Moshier, Esperanza Charter Academy chess coach and teacher.

Another winning school from Philadelphia, S. Weir Mitchell School, allocated a significant portion of their scholarship to attend All-Girls Nationals and High School Nationals. The girls (pictured below at All-Girls Nationals) had a great time playing against some high-rated players.

"They played great games against some high rated players. One of the girls had her best showing at All-Girls Nationals. She only lost two games. I was able to give them more responsibilities because it was a small group. It was their job to navigate the airport. Flying to Chicago was the first time that three of them had ever flown before. They looked up places to eat and led us to the restaurant. They had ramen and Korean barbecue for the first time on this trip." – Jason Bui, S. Weir Mitchell School teacher.

National High School - Memphis, TN

Idlewild Elementary Assistant Principal Bill Shuman shared the challenges his team members faced throughout the year due to Covid, from canceled tournaments to kids wanting to compete but getting sick or having to quarantine at the last minute. The scholarship enabled the team to travel and compete at the National High School Championships in Memphis and National Elementary Championships in Columbus.

“Over the course of the year we've had over 100 students be involved in chess every single week, and our coaches have​ begun pushing into classrooms on some Friday afternoons for "Fun Friday" activities for other students to gain exposure.” – Bill Shuman, Idlewild Elementary assistant principal.

Benton High School students from Arkansas also traveled to Memphis for High School Nationals accompanied by teacher Todd Bevill. Members of the team (pictured below) were having the time of their lives at Nationals. They used their scholarship to help pay for their travel, chess equipment, and online chess accounts.

 

National Middle School - Grapevine, TX

The team from Nicollet Middle School captured the State Middle School Championship but also used their scholarship to pay for tournament travel and coaching services throughout the year.

 

“We are more than grateful to Levy for his donation as we would not have attended the 2022 National Middle School Championships otherwise, where we finished in the top five in four different sections.” – Brian A. Ribnick, Nicollet Middle School chess coach.

Elementary Nationals - Columbus, Ohio

Again and again, the lucky schools like Bates Academy in Detroit and Hawthorn Hill Elementary in Missouri were able to show how Levy’s scholarship funds helped them get to tournaments, purchase chess equipment, and keep their programs active during an unprecedented time in education and in over-the-board chess.

 

Pictured above are Bates Academy chess team members at the 2022 National Elementary Chess Championships in Columbus, Ohio.

 Grandmaster Level Training

The Old Donation School (ODS) chess team in Virginia, led by Christina Schweiss and supported by the Hampton Roads Chess Association, were able to utilize the funds for training, travel, and entry fees for the state and national chess championships in the spring of 2022. In addition, they held a special training week with GM Timur Garayev.

   

Hampton Roads Chess Association arranged for GM Timur Gareyev (“The Blindfold King”) to travel to Virginia Beach to train ODS students and other local players. ODS students were admitted free to all events, and we were able to multiply the impact of Levy's donation through contributions from non-ODS paying students. They used the scholarship to fund the GM’s travel and lodging. He even helped coach during the Virginia State Scholastic!

GM Timur Gareyev at the Virginia State Scholastic with Hampton Roads Chess kids.

A Global Impact

The Chess In Slums program was another scholarship recipient that used their funds to address the unique challenges of vulnerable youth in Oshodi Underbridge, a suburb of Lagos, Nigeria. Chess In Slums was able to execute a chess intervention project, in one of the most dangerous slums in Nigeria. This project not only helped train 51 children, it also helped take them off the streets into shelter homes, where they are now getting proper education.

Tunde Onakoya, Convener of Chess in Slums sends his heartfelt thanks to Levy Rozman.

Thank You Levy! 

These three words were shared repeatedly throughout the year on social media, in thank-you videos, in emails and letters to IM Levy Rozman. In assisting him through the scholarship application process, it was evident that Levy wanted to make an impact and give back to the chess community.

"Before the online chess boom, I was pursuing a career in scholastic chess education. I always thought of chess as the great 'equalizer' - regardless of your socioeconomic background, absolutely anyone could learn valuable life skills on the 64 squares.

My decision to focus more on building an online brand coincided with the pandemic and the chess boom of 2021, and I always wanted to give back to chess students around the country." - IM Levy Rozman

The Levy Rozman Scholarship was intended to do just that. Regarding his plans for the future, Rozman shares: "I'm overjoyed that so many people benefited from it and were able to pursue their chess goals. Moving forward, I hope to turn this scholarship into a chess foundation, crowdsourcing grants and scholarships for more students across the US and perhaps the world."

He truly made a difference for a lot of kids. Thank you Levy!