PAL/Wynn Center brings tournament level chess to Bed-Stuy primary students
Renowned Grand Master Maurice Ashley Allies with Brooklyn DA To Train Young Minds
Bedford-Stuyvesant’s PAL/Wynn Center was the scene of bitter struggle on a recent Friday afternoon, with quarter neither sought nor given as third- and fourth-grade students squared off against one another under the tutelage of International Chess Grand Master Maurice Ashley. Long noted for sponsoring sports-themed afterschool programs, the Police Athletic League (PAL) and Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office expanded its range of PAL Smarts STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities with an after-school chess program.
“Our office supports many athletic programs,” Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez pointed out, “but not all of the kids are going to be athletes. This is also important in the sense that young people meet prosecutors not because they’re victims of a crime, or, God forbid, accused of a crime.