From Hoang Thong and the social flag project for children

Vietnamese chess has gradually developed with the appearance of more and more "child prodigies" such as Nguyen Le Cam Hien and Nguyen Anh Khoi.

In the national youth championships over the past half decade, which have seen the annual participation of over 1,000 players of all ages, grandmaster Tu Hoang Thong is always concerned because many children do not have the opportunity to become familiar with this intellectual sport .

Awarded Grandmaster by FIDE in 1999 and becoming the second Vietnamese player after Dao Thien Hai to achieve this title, Tu Hoang Thong spent about 10 years as a chess coach at schools, clubs and private homes in Singapore at the invitation of the then FIDE Secretary General Ignatius Leong. He returned to Vietnam and, together with his twin brother Tu Hoang Thai, founded the Smartchess chess school, training many "young" students who soon achieved success in domestic and international tournaments.

Sharing his concerns with his friend Nguyen Tuan Quynh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saigon Books, Thong was supported when he decided to announce the "Vietnam Chess Project" (VCP) with the aim of creating conditions for disadvantaged, disabled and disadvantaged children to access chess. Vietnamese children are considered to have high intelligence quotients, very suitable for types of learning or entertainment that require thinking and creativity.

DKT Tu Hoang Thong (2nd from right) at the opening ceremony of the chess class at Saigon Railway Station Shelter (Photo: NHACUAVUI)

Before April 2022, VCP opened 9 chess beginner classes in Khanh Hoa, Tay Ninh, Soc Trang , An Giang, Quang Tri, Thai Nguyen through online form. Currently, because the school year has ended, there is only one online class in Nha Trang and 3 direct classes in Ho Chi Minh City, of which, the third chess beginner class just opened on the morning of June 21 at Saigon Railway Station Shelter.

In addition to the plan to open 10 chess classes at 8 shelters, support facilities, and charity classes in Ho Chi Minh City in July, VCP will apply a hybrid chess teaching model (online learning, with a real chess board next to it) in all types of classes of the project.

VCP is actively promoting the project to spread the determination to create a summer full of joy and meaning with chess for all children. In addition to calling for funds from parents of students who have experienced the free course and some benefactors, VCP hopes to receive support from the whole society to be able to open more classes, purchase equipment, and create a foundation for developing the project nationwide.

Two of the most famous students of Master Tu Hoang Thong are Nguyen Linh Dan, the gold medalist in the U15 age group at the 2021 Asian Youth Chess Championship, the bronze medalist in the 2021 World Championship; Tran Duc Duy won the gold medal in the U8 age group at the 2021 Asian Championship. The former Southeast Asian Standard Chess Champion in 2001 affirmed that students of online and offline classes under the VCP project will be granted scholarships to study directly with him, the first steps on the journey to conquer the heights of chess. Master Tu Hoang Thong is looking forward to philanthropists with "Grandmaster" sponsorship packages, worth VND 750 million, enough to sponsor 75 chess courses for 750 children.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/the-thao/tu-hoang-thong-va-du-an-co-xa-hoi-cho-tre-em-20220627213032521.htm