Troubled southern Alberta youth turn to chess to help build hope and resilience [Video]

Every Friday in a southern Alberta classroom, youth are learning how to keep their troubles in check.

Hunched over chess boards at the University of Lethbridge, teens and young adults who are at-risk or have been convicted of various crimes are taught to think, think again, then think some more as they move their pawns, kings, queens and rooks across 64 black and white spaces.

The founder of Chess for Life says the program helps them learn how to accomplish short-term goals, like completing community service hours, following a curfew and staying out of trouble.

Some participants have gone on to secure full-time jobs, enrol in post-secondary education and rekindle broken relationships.

“That’s because there is a lot of opportunity to think about chess in ways that go beyond the board itself,” says Lance Grigg, who wants to expand the program to correctional facilities across Alberta.

“It’s just transformative in many ways.”

Grigg, who also teaches …