San Francisco Bayview’s Chess Star Wins Big
by Julianne Hing
Wednesday, August 3 2011, 6:38 PM EST
They’re calling her a “Chess Cinderella.” Dyhemia Young is a 16-year-old chess star who won a coveted wild card seat in the prestigious all-girls annual Susan Polgar Girls’ Invitational chess tournament in Lubbock, Texas. But there were a couple obstacles standing in her way. For one, airfare from Young’s home town of San Francisco to Texas was steep, and then Young’s mentor Adisa Banjoko had trouble locating her when he heard the news about her invitation.
Banjoko mentored Young in chess through the Hip-Hop Chess Federation, a non-profit (according to their website) that uses music, chess and martial arts to help young people in rough neighborhoods navigate their tricky lives.
It turned out that Young had been bouncing around the foster care system for the last three years, and it was only after finding a missing person’s poster and scouring leads that led them to the San Francisco police that Banjoko was able to get a hold of Young.
More here.
Is Hip Hop Chess a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization? I could not find it in the registration? Does it go by another name?
Yes. They have been since 2010 according to their blog.