Orrin Hudson is changing the way inner-city kids think, one chess game at a time. A chess champion, U.S. Air Force veteran, and former Alabama State Trooper and entrepreneur, Hudson began offering free, 16-week chess workshops across the nation in 2001.

He knew that chess was more than just a game; it offered strategies that a troubled youth could apply to a myriad of areas in his or her life. He knew that chess sharpened a young mind and helped them to think many steps ahead. He knew it was a way that a kid could stay off the street and continue another form of education.

At this point, Hudson, often called “The Pied Piper of Positivity,” has coached more than 20,000 kids in over 15 states. The name of the program “Heads Up, Pants Up, Grades Up” (”Pants Up” encourages the kids to abandon the baggy pants look in favor of something more professional.) In a remark that has many meanings, Hudson tells his students:

“If you make the right moves, you can get the right results.”

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