All the Right Moves

The origins of “All the Right Moves” lie in a collaboration between Fernando Moreno, a Broad Acres Elementary School counselor and long-time youth chess coach, and Senator Jamie Raskin (D-Silver Spring and Takoma Park), a fellow chess enthusiast who likes to visit Moreno’s class to play with his students. In November of 2008 the Silver Spring and Takoma Park community was shocked and traumatized by the murder of Tai Lam, a wonderful Blair High School freshman gunned down on a bus by a gang-banger.  Tai was Fernando Moreno’s chess student and a friend of Jamie Raskin’s son.  So the two men decided to launch a “chess movement” to foster positive dynamics among the young people of Montgomery County ; they found a lot of support in Impact Silver Spring and its network of community activists.

The “All the Right Moves” chess initiative sponsors the new Tai Lam Invitational Chess Tournament, an event at Blair High School that we hope will become annual.  The Tournament is open to student chess players in all grades and at all levels, and students compete by grade level.  (The date of the first such tournament: Saturday, May 30, 2009.)  There will be trophies and prizes.  We have been gratified by the support of Tai Lam’s family.

The first wave of volunteer organizers for All the Right Moves includes chess experts and masters, such as David Mehler of the U.S. Chess Center, and numerous teachers, parents, siblings and community volunteers.  Our key organizing committee includes: Thomas Nephew, Sue Katz Miller, Emily Sudbrink, Fernando Moreno, Jamie Raskin, and Carrie Witkop.  We welcome new volunteers all the time who are willing to lead chess clubs at local schools and participate in other community chess events.  We want to thank Haroon Mokhtarzada, Jennifer Nettles, Mayor Susan Hoffmann, Frankie Blackburn and Impact Silver Spring for their help and support.