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In a classroom within Saskatoon’s Wildwood School, the room settles into an unusual kind of silence.
It isn’t empty — it’s focused. Small hands hover over chessboards, brows furrow, eyes scam possibilities several moves ahead. At the centre of it all is Arash Abdollahzadeh, watching, guiding and occasionally smiling as a student discovers something for themselves.
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For Abdollahzadeh, chess has never just been a game. He sees it as something that can shape how young people think.
His own journey into this world began early.
“When I was about five years old, my parents bought me a chess set for my birthday. My dad showed me how the pieces move. At first, it was just for fun, but then I started beating my dad,” he recalled with a laugh.
“After a couple of months, I could beat everyone in my family, my older cousins, so that was when they realized that I had some talent. So they got me a coach.”
That early spark quickly grew into something much bigger. Abdollahzadeh went on to become a member of the Iranian youth national team, and won the Swedish Junior Championship in 2009.
Arash Abdollahzadeh said chess is more than a game. It’s a way for kids to learn important life lessons. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)
Today, with a Canadian Chess Federation rating of 2239 and the title of candidate national master, he continues to chase the next milestone.
“I need two more big tournaments to get to that title, national master,” he said.
But in Saskatoon, his focus isn’t just on trophies. It’s on people.
Since moving to Canada from Iran last year, Abdollahzadeh has quietly helped build something special through programs with the Wildwood Community Association and Saskatchewan Horizon Chess Club. What began with small workshops has steadily grown into a thriving community of young players.
“We are seeing that the chess is growing here in Saskatoon,” he said proudly. “I remember that the first workshop we had at Wildwood School, we had only five students. But now we have more than 15 students in different workshops, and I’m pretty sure that we’re going to have more and more students in the future.”
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Abdollahzadeh described chess as a blend of creativity and discipline.
“I like to be able to think ahead and plan for (the) rest of the game,” he explained. “I enjoyed being able to trick my opponent by thinking ahead. You need to know tactics. You need to have a long-term strategy to be able to trick your opponent.”
The workshops Abdollahzadeh leads don’t consist solely of learning theory or taking notes on different opening moves. He explained that the game only truly comes alive once the pieces start moving.
“I let kids learn the theory, and then the final part of each workshop, we let them practice immediately what they have learned,” he explained.
It’s a teaching style shaped by his own experience growing up in competitive chess, where hours of study and preparation were always followed by real-life practice. He said his parents would drive him each weekend to the Iranian Chess Federation, where he could test what he’d learned in books throughout the week against real opponents, and sharpen it through repetition.
Arash Abdollahzadeh’s workshops are available through Saskatchewan Horizon Chess and the Wildwood Community Association. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)
And while Abdollahzadeh is competitive when it comes to the game he loves, he said the true value of chess isn’t measured in wins and losses.
“In this world, when everything is digital and fast, this sport is just helping kids to slow down a little bit,” he noted.
“To just focus and think. It’s something unique that you can experience in chess.”
He said that in a culture of constant distractions, the ability to slow down is becoming a valuable skill.
During tournaments and workshops, he sees it happen in real time: kids leaning into the challenge, learning to sit with uncertainty and making decisions that are entirely their own.
“I see that they love the sport,” Abdollahzadeh said. “They look so happy when they get better position, when they win the game, and when they sit and think about their move. It’s about taking responsibility for every move.”
He explained that the lesson about taking ownership of your decisions extends far beyond the board.
“When it comes to soccer, 11 players in the same team. But in chess, you have responsibility for every single move. And that’s what you need to learn in your life. You make a bad move, a bad decision, it can take some time before you can improve your situation. So I see it as something that helps kids to learn skills that can help them in their lives.”
At its core, the heart of chess remains unchanged: two players, one board and a series of decisions that tell a story. In Saskatoon, more and more young players are choosing to tell that story, and Abdollahzadeh is helping them write it.
“I’m very happy with my life here in Canada, and we are just trying to improve the chess community here,” he said. “Chess in Saskatoon is growing, actually, very well.”
If you step into one of his workshops, you’ll see that growth for yourself. Not just in numbers, but in confidence, patience and quiet determination.
And for Abdollahzadeh, that’s the goal: To give more young people a place to sit down, slow down and think. One move at a time.
Arash Abdollahzadeh is on his way to becoming a Canadian national master in chess. He is hoping to spread a love of the game with kids in Saskatoon. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)
