NYPD officers face off against inner-city kids on chessboard

NEW YORK -- One hundred and fifty students from New York City's five boroughs recently went head-to-head against the New York Police Department in chess as an initiative to build camaraderie between the department and low-income or minority communities.

Chess in the Schools, a non-profit after-school program that has been teaching inner-city kids the game of chess since 1986, organized the event for the cops and kids from age 8 to 18.

"There are a lot of things that happen in the neighborhoods, and a lot of times parents and kids and families distrust the officers because things happen," said Marley Kaplan, the non-profit's CEO. "This is a great opportunity for the kids to understand that the officers are there to do a job."

High school students Amadou Kane and Katherine Zapata compete multiple times a year against their peers. They even teach chess to neighbors in local parks. To them, chess is more than just a game. It's an asset that helps in the classroom and in real world situations.

"It gives me more of a wide view of the world rather than narrow; it also makes me think more often about certain situations and how to react," Kane said.

As the event came to a close, there was only one word to describe the tournament: checkmate.

"Many teenagers assume that police officers are cruel and take advantage of their authority, but today we were all together, no disputes, no conflicts," Kane added.

Kane won a medal at the end of the day's competition, but Zapata said not winning is equally as important.

"Chess has taught me it's OK to lose," she said, "as long as you learn something from it and you move on and keep doing it."

Jaime Woods and Matthew Kwiecinski produced this story.