Hari Neocleous’ book is a celebration of everything educational chess can become when it is taught with heart and I am delighted to introduce both Hari and her amazing work to you because Hari is one of those rare educators who has the remarkable ability to make chess feel magical.
What did chess give you? What is your Gift of Chess?
For me, one of those gifts has been meeting Hari.
I have known Hari for many, many years now. We first met during an ECU101 The SMART Method to Teach Chess training course. Over those two days, we connected almost immediately. We shared the same passion for educational chess and the same curiosity about children’s learning. I remember secretly assigning Hari certificate number 1000, making her the 1000th educator to receive the ECU School Chess Teacher Certificate. She didn’t know it at the time, but it felt like a special milestone for someone I knew would continue to make a meaningful contribution to Chess in Education.
Since then, our paths have crossed countless times at conferences, training courses, festivals and educational events. At the same time, our friendship naturally evolved into an even stronger professional collaboration.
Today, we are both tutors with Chess in Schools and Communities in London, and we have had the privilege of working together on several educational initiatives. One of my favourite memories is delivering an ECU Discussion Group Meeting together on Communication in the Chess Classroom. The session generated so much discussion and practical exchange that many participants later told us they had experienced it as a full training course rather than a discussion group. 🙂
Hari also co-developed the ECU102 Exploring Maths Tasks through Chess training course and writes the wonderful educational blogs for Logiqboard. I always enjoy exchanging ideas with her. We brainstorm classroom activities, invent games and puzzles, discuss teaching strategies, reflect on our experiences with children and somewhere in between all that, we simply laugh a lot. Those conversations have shaped many of my own ideas about teaching, just as I hope mine have contributed to hers.
Chess has introduced me to remarkable educators around the world, but every so often it gives you something even more precious: a lifelong friend. Hari is one of those friends, and I feel incredibly fortunate that our shared passion for Chess in Education brought our paths together.
I am proud of everything she has achieved, proud to call her both a colleague and a friend and honoured to support her and this beautiful book.
Chess’s greatest gifts are often found in the people we meet along the way.
The story begins
An endless journey of lifelong learning.
A little girl’s battle became a woman’s guiding light.
(Sorry, this could have been a nice quote from me in your book, but I just came up with it now, and I’m loving it because it is so true :-))
Hari’s book is an inspiring, reflective read that explores what chess gives us beyond the moves and rules. It celebrates the idea that the greatest rewards of chess are often invisible: confidence gained after overcoming challenges, friendships built across the board and the joy of discovering what we are all capable of.
Presented through poetry, storytelling and beautiful illustrations, the book invites children to see chess as a lifelong companion. The book takes young readers on a journey to discover the many “gifts” that chess offers by encouraging them to reflect on a range of questions.
Given Hari’s background as a primary maths teacher and chess educator, the book reflects the philosophy she has championed for years, that chess is a powerful educational tool that, with a great teacher, can nurture the whole child.
Bringing The Gift of Chess into the Classroom
Whenever I come across something related to Chess in Education, my mind immediately starts asking the questions: How can I use this in the classroom? How can children benefit from it?
I believe that some of the most valuable learning happens when the pieces stop moving and the conversation begins. Throughout my work with chess educators across our training courses, I consistently highlight the importance of generating discussions in the classroom about what chess is teaching us. These discussions are where educational chess truly comes alive.
The Gift of Chess offers a wonderful opportunity to bring these conversations into the chess classroom. Read the story together, pause at meaningful moments and invite children to reflect. What ideas came to their minds? Have they ever experienced something similar? Did a particular part of the story remind them of one of their own challenges in everyday life? Do they agree with the message, or do they see it differently?
There are no right or wrong answers. What matters is giving children the opportunity to express their thoughts, listen to one another and realise that everyone experiences chess differently. These discussions deepen understanding and help children recognise the many ways chess influences their lives.
When children talk about their experiences, they begin to discover their own story through chess.
One of the greatest misconceptions about educational chess is that children automatically recognise the skills they are developing. They don’t. A child may become more patient without realising it. They may improve their problem-solving skills or learn to manage disappointment, but unless we help them reflect on these lessons, they often remain hidden.
Discussion makes the invisible visible
When children put their experiences into words, they begin to understand what they can learn from chess beyond the moves. They connect what happens on the board with what happens in the classroom, at home, on the playground and later in life. Reflection strengthens understanding, and understanding makes learning transferable. This transfer is exactly the goal of Chess in Education!
This is why I encourage educators to build moments of discussion into every chess lesson. It does not have to be long. Even five or ten minutes can have a lasting impact. These conversations also create a classroom culture where children learn from one another. One child may describe how chess helped them become more confident in maths. Another may explain how it taught them not to give up. Hearing different perspectives broadens everyone’s understanding of what chess can offer.
As educators, we should not assume that the educational benefits of chess will simply emerge on their own. They need to be recognised, named, discussed and revisited. Every reflection helps children internalise the life skills they are developing, and books like The Gift of Chess make these conversations natural.
Ways to Explore the Story – Classroom Ideas
The Gift of Chess has the potential to become a valuable classroom resource for developing children’s social, emotional and cognitive skills through chess. There are many ways educators can use it:
Support literacy
Children naturally connect with stories. They are drawn to literature, poems and metaphors that spark their imagination and encourage them to make sense of their own experiences and explore their own emotions. The story can become a stimulus for reading, comprehension, vocabulary, speaking and writing activities. Children could write about their own “gift of chess”.
Inspire creative activities
Children could:
- draw their own “Gift of Chess” illustration,
- design a new book cover,
- create a classroom mural showing the life lessons chess teaches,
- produce a class book titled Our Gifts of Chess, where every child contributes a page.
Develop Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
Use the book to explore different themes (one at a time, such as resilience, confidence, patience, empathy, respect, kindness…) and let children connect these ideas to their own experiences at the chessboard.
Congratulations, Hari!! Let’s turn the page 🙂
The Gift of Chess, published by Thinkers Publishing