CNN Money’s 12/16/2016 article w/ photos: “Teacher returns to his Bronx high school to help kids succeed: How a 99-cent chessboard helped change the course of Juan de Jesus’ life”. money.cnn.com/2016/12/16/news/ec … -stack-dom
Juan de Jesus, 29, now a special education teacher at Health Opportunities High School (South Bronx), was recently given the Robin Hood Foundation’s Hero Award.
He competed in high school in the Chess in Schools tournaments.
"I thought no one was going to beat me, but I lost every game for a year. Every loss motivated me to work harder.
In high school, I played chess relentlessly. One day it just clicked. I was just winning. I loved that feeling."