Harlem's Chess Kings

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Times teaches a holistic approach to the game. A Tai Chi instructor shows the kids how to breathe properly during exhausting tournament rounds. Judging by Mott's winning record, the touchy-feely approach seems to work.

Sixth-grader Anthony Hidalgo, New York City champion for his age group, falls asleep with a chess book almost every night. "I get ideas from studying the mistakes of other players," he says. Hidalgo, an A student who wants to be an engineer, says chess has improved his scholastic performance. Thanks to the Harlem Chess Center, 250 more kids each year will get to learn the game. And with any luck, they, like Hidalgo, will become winners on and off the chessboard.