Pawns to progress: San Quentin chess event unites prisoners, guards to transform lives

PRISONERS AND GUARDS at San Quentin faced off and partnered up recently to play games of chess in the facility’s gymnasium. The goal was to have incarcerated people and staff members engage with each other as part of the ongoing effort to convert the 171-year-old state prison into a rehabilitation center.

The event, dubbed “Pawns to Progress,” was sponsored by Mechanics’ Institute — a San Francisco-based cultural center and chess club — and San Quentin SkunkWorks — a nonprofit that empowers incarcerated people. The organizations facilitated inmates, officers and other staff members to challenge each other’s skill at 30 chess tables. Half the players sat at tables to play with Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club timers.