In Malawi’s capital, young but thoughtful-looking boys and girls sit in a small, crude classroom filled with tables and chess boards.

Under the seemingly casual but attentive gaze of two assistants, the 10 students—mostly wearing white shirts and black shorts and ranging in age from 4 to 16—were busy making moves on the chessboard, playing with their own An extracurricular game that has become a hobby for them since school.study in Dadaz Chess Academy In Lilongwe.

At the front of the classroom, Susan Namangale briefly turned her attention away from her computer to look at her students with pride. She called two students into her office and discussed the rules of chess with them, and their reactions were impressive.

“I didn’t have this opportunity when I was younger because there was no such thing [as school for chess]”, said Ms. Namangale, the founder of the institution and a former chess prodigy. “So now we give children an opportunity to learn chess. “

Ms Namangale grew up in Nkhotakota, a rural district in central Malawi, and was introduced to chess at the age of nine by her older sister, who was in secondary school.now former president Malawi Chess Association and the first female president. International Chess Federation (FIDE) Zone 4.5, 47-year-old, she hopes to use her personal experience and skills to promote the game from the grassroots to prisons and rural schools where opportunities are rare.

Jennifer Justine, 13, is one of the young people from rural areas mentored by Ms. Namanger.

She lives in the same area where Ms Namangale grew up and the teacher hopes to see her follow in her footsteps. The student said playing chess helped her “think quickly and start performing well in class.”

She hopes to pass the exam and enter middle school. “Then [I will] Getting to work and being able to support my parents and others in need,” she explained in a video clip shared on X.

Eight-year-old Xavier Chinyama, a second-year student at Dadaz College, tells I Chess helped him improve his math scores and get better grades in school.

“You have the possibility to become smart, it expands your brain and makes you smarter. Sometimes you may fail, but you don’t give up,” he said.

Ms Namangale’s commitment to developing the next generation of players has led her to establish the Dadaz Academy, where about a dozen students are studying.

She uses the funds generated by her school to connect with more young people in rural areas like Jennifer’s. The team also works with young people in juvenile prisons and on the streets.

“Before, people thought that chess was only for the elite and that children in the village could not play chess, but now they are playing it,” Ms Namangale said.

She said it was beneficial for children to visit towns and play chess “because chess is an educational tool”.

Ms. Namangale and her team at the Academy guide learners step by step; from learning about the board, the pieces and how they move, right through to different tactics and strategies.

“Chess is everything to me… It makes me face the world… It makes me confident and believe in myself, it makes me tough and able to face problems and find solutions, it makes me have a presence all over the world Friends,” she said.

“Because of chess I travel a lot, I play a lot of tournaments, I’ve been to every continent in the world, not because of my education and my job, no, it’s because of chess. That’s why I always say chess unlocks potential – it It unlocked my potential. I saw the world because of chess, why can’t another kid?”

When Ms. Namangale’s sister brought that board home during the holidays, the board was as alien to the little girl as its purpose, but that didn’t stop her sister from teaching her “a move or two.” .

The chessboard was given to her by her sister U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers are at Lilongwe Girls Secondary School. Although it didn’t mean much to her at the time, Ms. Namangale’s interest in the game grew over time.

“When she went back to school, she had no one to play with, until I was drafted into Providence High School, an all-girls Catholic school. I joined a chess club, and I never looked back.”

Although there were only two chess boards in the school, Ms Namangale and her friends pooled their pocket money to buy two more so that the club could grow. However, while in college, she mastered the skill and became a champion multiple times.

After leaving school, she continued to devote her spare time to football. In 2005, she traveled to neighboring Zambia with the first team. This was Malawi’s first international competition. Due to work and family demands – she has three sons, all of whom play chess, and one of them helps her run the academy – she took a break from chess to pass on her passion.

Now serving as ambassador chess gift, As a charity that changes lives through ‘Our Universal Language of Chess’, she has become the voice of the country’s chess community, helping disadvantaged young people on the streets and in prison transform their lives.The organization is working Donate 1 million chess sets globally by 2030 Use “chess as a simple, low-cost, and universally recognized tool to expand opportunity for all.”

The motto that motivates prisoners, she said, is “play chess for freedom,” meaning that making a mistake does not mean losing the game: “You can take the next step, get better, improve your status. So we use prisons To use a life analogy, these people are in jail because they made a mistake, but that doesn’t mean they will be condemned forever.”