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Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson spotlights 'Chess for Life' program for Head Start preschoolers
Summary
In an IBM.tv interview, Attorney General Bob Ferguson and partners described Chess for Life, a program used in Head Start classrooms to build social-emotional and school-readiness skills; organizers said a Boeing grant has supported the pilot and they plan to expand statewide, with program details and grant amounts not specified.
Bob Ferguson, the Washington state attorney general, joined an IBM.tv interview to highlight Chess for Life, a classroom program organizers say uses chess to teach social skills, concentration and early math to three- and four-year-old Head Start students.
"I spent thousands of hours studying chess, playing chess, thinking about chess," Ferguson said, describing how the game's emphasis on anticipating an opponent's moves and accepting accountability shaped the habits he uses as a lawyer and public official. "That skill of putting yourself in another person's shoes ... is critically important." His appearance on the show included an on-camera speed chess demonstration with a program instructor.
Elliot Neff, identified in the segment as a Chess for Life instructor, and Abby Achero, site supervisor at the Children’s Home Society of Washington (Highline College site), described how staff were trained to introduce simplified chess routines and how young children respond. "Our main focus is school readiness for children," Achero said, noting the program began as a pilot (described in the interview as "02/2016") and that teachers initially needed hands-on training to lead activities.
Joel Ryan, who said he runs the Head Start ECAP Association in Washington state, framed the program as preventive: "About half the kids right now in the state of Washington come to kindergarten unprepared," he said in the interview, arguing early interventions can reduce later costs tied to remediation or involvement with the justice system. Ryan also said the project received "a grant for the last couple years from the Boeing company," and that organizers intend to expand the model statewide; the interview did not specify the grant amount or the precise timetable for scaling.
Panelists emphasized that chess is used as a vehicle to teach broader skills — sharing, taking turns, focused attention, vocabulary (for example, naming diagonal moves) and civility, including the tradition of shaking hands before and after games. Teachers and organizers described anecdotal improvements in concentration and cooperative behavior among pupils; the segment included a live demonstration where preschoolers set up boards and practiced respectful behaviors.
The interview concluded with Ferguson and a Chess for Life instructor playing a three-minute speed game on-camera and the hosts thanking participants. No formal policy action or public funding commitments were announced during the segment; organizers characterized their plans as partnership-driven and grant-supported expansion rather than an agency-led mandate.
Next steps announced on camera: program leaders said they plan to take Chess for Life statewide with local Head Start and community partners, supported in part by Boeing grant funding; details on budget, timeline and formal agreements were not provided in the conversation.
