THE GRANDMASTERS

Chess in Slums Africa started with a boy and a barber shop in Ikorodu, Lagos. Tunde Onakoya couldn't always afford his own school fees. His mother once cleaned classrooms just so he could sit in one. But on a chessboard, he was equal to anyone else on earth, and that changed something in him. It made him understand that he could be more than where he came from.

That belief became a mission, the Chess in Slums Africa initiative. Founded by Tunde Onakoya in 2018, CISA started with the simple goal of teaching chess to children as a way to enhance their cognitive and life skills. It has since grown into a platform for addressing not only educational needs but also the social and emotional well-being of scores of children through scholarships, vocational training, and mentorship.

Tunde and his team have taught the game to over a thousand children, secured more than $400,000 in scholarships, and put more than 130,000 chess sets into hands that had never held one before. The goal has always been bigger: one million kids, one board at a time, learning that their circumstances don't get the final say.

Anthony has watched this for years, thinking about how he can get involved. He's seen what one board and a little patience can do for a child who has never once been told they could win. As an artist, he knows something about building a way forward out of nothing but discipline and a blank surface. So when the chance came to put his work directly behind CISA's mission, there was no decision to make.

The Grandmasters are two new chess-inspired paintings from Anthony. 100 physical prints of each piece are available here now, at a special price of $100 apiece. Proceeds from every sale go toward supporting CISA's work, with the goal of raising funding to put more boards, more scholarships, and more belief into the hands of kids who've earned it.

This collection is a reminder:

It is Possible to do great things from a small place.