Taekwondo and chess? St. George man starts academy combining 2 of his passions

ST. GEORGE — Trevin Day has two major passions in this life — chess and taekwondo. Recently, he has combined the two in a unique chess academy that he hopes will get the next generation excited about something he says has brought him so much joy.

"I haven't seen anybody start a chess academy or anything quite like this," he said.

Day is in the beginning stages of what he hopes will not only be a place where young people can learn how to play chess, but where they can "level up," as they progress in their learning. He is calling his passion project Red Rock Chess Academy, and he said he wants to teach his students critical life skills through chess while modeling it after the taekwondo progression system.

"I am a black belt in taekwondo, and I really love the belt progression system," he said. "I wanted to incorporate that into chess while teaching the younger generation how to develop critical thinking skills, how to make friends, and how to enjoy the game."

In Red Rock Chess Academy, which Day is starting in June as a home-based business, students start out as a pawn, and then they advance to knight, and then to bishop. As they learn and pass off skills, they will then progress to rook, queen, king and eventually they graduate.

"I want to teach the kids that there's never enough opportunities to learn in chess," Day said. "There are millions of games played each year, and none of them are the same. The idea behind (the academy) is to teach the kids critical thinking so they are able to hone in on opportunities and capitalize on mistakes and to see the progression of where they started."

Day's progression in chess started at the age of 5 when his dad introduced the game to him. He said it wasn't until his teenage years, however, when he really started to develop a deep love for it.

"I remember bringing my chess set on vacation with me whenever I went," he said. "I played with people in the airport on the floor as we were waiting. I've collected chess sets from every country I've visited. I have chess sets from Germany, Mexico, Argentina and Peru."

Day, now 22, was the chess president at Desert Hills High School in St. George. Following graduation, he served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Córdoba, Argentina.

"In one of my areas (in the mission), Rio Tercero, there is a business called Chess Circle Rio Tercero where I played once a week every Monday," he said, adding that this was an important routine for him during that time.

"For me, chess has been an opportunity to develop my thinking in a way that has brought me joy," he said. "It also taught me a lot about patience and time management and how to think outside of the box. There are a lot of kids who love playing chess, and I wanted to be able to give that experience to them."

While round-house kicks won't likely be allowed in chess class, Day said blocking opponents is very much encouraged. He also said that he has plans to hold tournaments much like he had as a student in taekwondo.

"We're excited to grow the chess community here in St. George and help students develop skills that go far beyond the chess board," he said.

For more information, Day can be reached at redrockchess@gmail.com.

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