I did a teaching program like 10 years ago for 6th grade kids from low socioeconomic backgrounds. None of them knew how to play chess, only checkers. So I taught some of them how to play, and every morning kids would line up to play me until class started.

In the beginning I used the 4 move checkmate on every kid 😂. As the year went on they taught each other and learned how to defend it. I still won every match but some of them made it further into the match each time. I donated my chess openings and chess tactics books to the school library and I'd always see a kid reading one during read time.

At the end of the year, I made a serious error and a kid finally beat me. The whole class erupted in celebration. It was amazing to see their growth and excitement just from a board game called chess.