By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
On Sunday, Detective Denise “Cookie” Bouldin and Jameel Shabazz, owner of J Styles Barbershop and founder of Project Impact, partnered with the Washington Chess Federation to host the Sunday Barbershop Chess Tournament, an event that combined the game of chess with one of the Black community’s oldest and most vital gathering spaces: the barbershop.
Outside of the Black church, barber and beauty shops are two of the most prominent cultural hubs in the Black community. Barbershops have long served not just as places for grooming but as trusted community gathering spaces. Recognizing this history, Bouldin and Shabazz brought their vision to life by fusing the intellectual challenge of chess with the barbershop’s legacy of community leadership.
For the past eight years, Bouldin has led a community chess club as part of her community outreach and mentorship efforts. What began at the Rainier Beach Community Center has grown into a wide-reaching program that includes school-based clubs, library programs, and neighborhood pop-ups. Her initiative has become so impactful that a dedicated chess park was built in her honor in the Rainier Beach neighborhood, a lasting testament to her work in connecting youth with meaningful, constructive activities.
“We made it happen, and it was so wonderful,” Bouldin said. “He [J Styles] got several of his customers, adults and youth to participate, and I got several of my chess club members, adults and youngsters to participate in this Sunday barbershop challenge.”
“And it was wonderful to bring the generations together—to see the adults and their children, their fathers and their mothers and their sons and daughters playing chess together at one location. It has never happened here in Seattle to my knowledge. I’ve seen it in other places like Chicago and New York, but never here. I just thought it was a really, really good idea if we did that.”
“This is a chess tournament that’s put on by Project Impact, Det. Cookie, and the Washington Chess Federation,” said Shabazz. “Impact stands for Empowering Minds for Positive Action and Community Transformation. We bring community members together in an environment where, through gameplay, they have intellectual and communicable interaction between generations, law enforcement, and different people in the community.”
Shabazz said the goal was not just to play chess but to spark deeper conversations between youth and adults and to use the game as a platform to bridge generational, cultural, and professional divides, including with law enforcement. His vision aligns with Bouldin’s long-standing belief that police officers should be present in communities as mentors and allies, not just as enforcers.
“Let’s do this. What better way to bring the community, the police department, the chess club, and the barbershop together?” said Bouldin. “During this event, I had people asking how they could become a police officer.”
That kind of engagement, she said, is what she’s worked toward throughout her career. Bouldin has spent years mentoring youth in Seattle, whether through organizing community events, coaching sports, or teaching chess, and she’s always viewed chess as one of the most effective tools for opening minds and building trust.
According to chess advocates and educators, the benefits of the game go far beyond the board. Josh Sinanan, president of the Washington Chess Federation, and Rekha Sagar, the federation’s vice president, have worked with schools, libraries, and youth organizations to expand access to chess for children of all backgrounds. They advocate that chess enhances both cognitive and social development in young players and outlined several of its benefits:
• Improves critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Enhances memory and concentration through strategic planning.
• Teaches patience and the importance of thinking ahead.
• Fosters creativity by encouraging innovative tactics.
• Promotes sportsmanship and respect for opponents.
• Develops social skills through interaction in games and tournaments.
“Chess is a really great game for kids,” said Sinanan. “It’s one of the only activities that teaches them executive decision-making skills. They’re in charge of an army of plastic pieces, and they have to figure out what to do with them. It also builds empathy, critical thinking, and social skills. We see a lot of introverted kids come out of their shells and make new friends through chess.”
“I want kids to learn to make good decisions in their life, and chess is here to help every single kid understand what that takes,” said Sagar. “It improves memory and concentration, which can translate into their academics. It teaches how to face challenges, focus on strategies, and consider consequences.”
Sagar said she’s seen children who struggle with focus or social anxiety become more confident and engaged through chess. The structured nature of the game provides a safe and predictable space for young minds to grow, she said, while also introducing them to diversity of thought and different cultures through competitive play.
Chess has also been used in therapeutic settings to help children with ADHD, anxiety, and trauma. It encourages planning, impulse control, and empathy. In a time when many families are seeking alternatives to screen time and ways to support their children’s emotional health, chess offers a constructive, interactive option that parents and educators alike can support.
Bouldin said the social aspects of chess are just as important as the intellectual ones.
“It is so important for kids to have any kind of extra activity to keep them off the street doing negative things,” she said. “But chess, anybody can play chess, anybody can learn chess. You don’t have to be the biggest, the tallest, the fastest, or the smartest. You don’t even have to speak the same language.”
“You meet people you never would have even said hello to. Now they’re your friends, and now you also learn about their culture, which is what I really loved to see these kids discover.”
She recalled how one of her students, once shy and reluctant, became a leader within the club, mentoring other children and even teaching his parents how to play. Stories like that, she said, are proof of the game’s potential not just to educate, but to transform.
Events like the Sunday Barbershop Chess Tournament also serve as reminders of the power of local spaces to foster real change. The tournament brought together longtime residents, business owners, police officers, youth, parents, and chess coaches in a shared experience of learning and fun. It bridged gaps and built new relationships in an environment that has long been trusted by the community.
The organizers said this is just the beginning. Bouldin and Shabazz are already planning future barbershop tournaments and exploring ways to expand the program to beauty salons, schools, and neighborhood parks.
