LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — In the game of chess — and in life — you need to “always think before you move.”
Brown travels the country, spreading a message to youth and adults alike: just like in chess, you must consider your next move.
That was the message Eugene “Chessman” Brown brought to Lima this week, thanks to the Jegna Corporation. While serving time for a bank robbery, Brown discovered a passion for chess. After his release, he founded a chess club for inner-city youth. Brown’s story was later made into the movie Life of a King, starring Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. Now, Brown travels the country, spreading a message to youth and adults alike: just like in chess, you must consider your next move.
“If a youth can start seeing his end game while he's in the opening because the parallels of life are just similar. There's a young age, there's a middle age, and there's an old age. If you can start seeing your end game how you want to end up while you're in your opening game, it's very difficult to get you distracted off of that corridor, because you see clearly where you're going,” said Eugene Brown, author and speaker.
“It's been impressive to see how connected young people really have taken to the movie. Some of them saw it as recent as yesterday, and some saw it months ago. And just to see the real-life person, you realize this wasn't about a celebrity, this was about a legacy,” said Emmanual Curtis, CEO of the Jegna Corporation.
During his time in the area, Brown spoke to students at Lima City Schools and met with youth at the Allen County Juvenile Detention Center.
