Orrin Hudson graces Chess Life cover

By US Chess Federation
November 20, 2015

Crossville, TN – Orrin Hudson, a chess instructor and motivational speaker in Stone Mountain, Georgia, has been named the first Chess Life cover contest winner. Hudson appears on the cover of our December 2015 issue, being released on uschess.org on November 24, 2015. Readers were invited to tell us in 200 words how their activities are advancing the mission and vision of the 501(c)(3) US Chess Federation (US Chess):

USCF Mission: Empowering people through chess one move at a time.
USCF Vision: Our vision is to enrich the lives of all persons and communities through increasing the play, study, and appreciation of the game of chess.

Hudson was selected based on this entry:

“Chess saved my life and I’m using it to both save and change the lives of young people who need guidance and direction. Am I being overly dramatic here? In my case, absolutely not. In the cases of the thousands of young people I have touched and influenced through this wonderful game, I am on solid ground. I was an inner city youth in Birmingham in 1978 and I was on a dead-end road. My heroes were not pillars of the community. They were cool and “important” but not for the right reasons. That’s who I wanted to be. I expected no more of myself. But a teacher did. Using the game of chess, he unlocked my sleeping potential. He, through the game, empowered me to truly “Be Someone,” which is now my organization’s name. He taught me there is a consequence for every move we make whether it is playing chess or on the street. He taught me to think it out, don’t shoot it out. Now I have debt to pay and I’m doing it with my chessboard. I am reaching young people through chess. I speak their language and they listen. And watch. And learn. And change.”

About US Chess

US Chess is the official governing body and not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization for chess players and chess supporters in the United States. Our mission is to empower people through chess one move at a time. Our vision is to enrich the lives of all persons and communities through increasing the play, study, and appreciation of the game of chess.
US Chess represents the United States in the World Chess Federation (FIDE), connecting our members to chess players around the world. Founded in 1939 with the merger of the American Chess Federation and the National Chess Federation, US Chess has grown to serve over 85,000 members and 2,000 affiliated chess clubs and organizations today.
Every year, US Chess sanctions and rates over 10,000 tournaments and over half a million games. We host over 25 National Championships and award titles to both amateurs and professionals, ranging from elementary school students to senior citizens.

Contact
To learn more about this story or Chess Life magazine, which will be celebrating its 70th year in 2016, please contact:

Daniel Lucas
Director of Publications
Editor, Chess Life
Cell: (931) 200-5509
dlucas@uschess.org