Mentor Romeo Davis teaching some of Bronx's at-risk youth life lessons through chess
NEW YORK -- This year is off to a rough start in the city. Officials at City Hall are trying to stem the violence.
But as CBS2's Nick Caloway reported Wednesday, there's a lot of work being done on the ground, too, in the communities impacted the most.
Chess is all about making the right moves. Romeo Davis, known mostly as "Mr. Romeo," started the Young Kings & Queens Chess Club. He has been teaching the game to young people in the Bronx for years.
"Chess is not a hard game. Chess is easy to learn, but hard to master," Davis said.
He said there are a lot of life lessons to be learned from chess.
"If you take your time to think about what you're doing, and have patience, the opportunity is going to be there for you. A lot of times these kids move without thinking," Davis said.
It's not just chess. Davis coaches youth basketball, too. He said he's trying to get kids involved in the community and keep them off the streets.
"It's something productive to do, you know? A lot of people don't have that," high school freshman Michael Oludare said.
"Now I'm focusing on the right things, taking my schoolwork more seriously and the gym, and myself, and not focusing on the wrong things," high school senior Christian Then Ovalle said.
"I want these kids to understand that you have opportunities out here. You've just got to take your chance to not fail," Davis added.
Those opportunities can have real impacts, especially now, as the city struggles with a sharp rise in violent crimes.
Bronx Councilman Kevin Riley praised Davis' mentoring, saying it keeps countless kids from getting into real trouble.
"He doesn't get assistance from anybody. He does this from the kindness of his heart, and we need more people in the community to do things like that," Riley said.
As in life, every chess move has a consequence. Davis hopes his students learn to think for themselves to be the chess player... not a chess piece.
Davis also teaches chess to seniors in the Bronx.
