At LumenSparQ, we believe sparks often begin quietly. In moments of loss. In moments of reflection. In moments when a young person chooses to respond rather than withdraw.
Micah Presser is one of those young people.
Micah launched Check Mates at age 13. What began as a bar mitzvah project has grown into a multi-state initiative connecting generations through the simple act of sitting down across a chessboard. But to understand Check Mates, you have to understand what came before it.
The COVID pandemic arrived at the end of Micah’s fourth grade year. Over the next several years, he experienced the kind of disconnection that reshaped an entire generation of students. He missed his fifth-grade overnight science trip. He missed his elementary school graduation. A month-long summer camp he had planned to attend was canceled.
He chose to participate in his district’s distance-learning academy through fifth and sixth grade, in part so he could safely continue visiting his medically vulnerable grandfather. While many classmates attended hybrid classes together, Micah remained online. The first time he met many of them in person was at the conclusion of the school year, when they spent an hour masked outdoors together.
“I really felt very disconnected during that time,” he shared.
Yet in the middle of that isolation, something steady remained: games.
“In an attempt to combat isolation, I found both intellectual challenge and companionship through games,” Micah wrote.
Chess had already been part of his life since early childhood. “I started playing chess when I was really young, probably around kindergarten or first grade,” he said. “I would play with my dad whenever we went out to get hot chocolate.”
During the pandemic, games became more than a pastime. Micah watched his dad continue long-standing strategy game nights online with friends. What had once been in-person gatherings shifted to virtual sessions. At first Micah observed, then he joined. Over time, he became a regular player, learning from adults and forming relationships across generations.
He also introduced many of his own friends to online strategy platforms, recreating connections in digital space when physical gathering was impossible.
Games became a bridge.
They were also a lifeline within his family. During shortened day trips to Santa Barbara, Micah and his family spent long hours outside on his grandparents’ patio to reduce risk. His Zeide was sick. The world felt fragile. Yet one familiar ritual endured: Cuban dominoes. Playing together in that unusual season made “the world seem a little more normal again,” he said.
When Micah began planning his bar mitzvah project at 13, he knew he wanted to build something rooted in that experience. He was not looking for something symbolic. He was looking for something that could rebuild connection.
“I wanted to bring a passion of mine into something that was like a problem that I had really seen and that I wanted to fight against,” he explained. “I thought chess, something that I really enjoyed, was a great connector between a lot of these generations.”
That realization became Check Mates.
His first event drew about thirty-five participants, more than he expected. “I was really happy with that,” he said. The turnout revealed something deeper than interest in a game. It revealed that people were ready to gather again.
Over the past three years, as Micah has grown from a middle schooler to high school sophomore, Check Mates has grown with him. He partnered with his local library district, expanded to additional branches, and began reaching out across the country to libraries, synagogues, and community centers. The outreach required persistence. Many expressed interest but never followed through.
“It’s hard when you have so many places and then you are losing them because they’re not as passionate about it,” he admitted. Still, he continued. “If we can reach out to more communities, there are going to be people that are interested.”
His belief proved right. Check Mates events have now taken place in multiple states, including California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, and New York, with additional gatherings scheduled.
At each event, the setup is intentionally simple: tables, boards, pieces, and color-coded name tags indicating skill level so players can find balanced matches. What matters most, however, is what happens once people sit down.
“It’s just fun to watch the little kids playing the older adults,” Micah said. “Especially because a lot of the little kids beat the older adults.” He reflected on what that means. “They can both be at that same level. And one of them can be better. And it doesn’t matter about age.”
He has witnessed quieter moments as well. Older participants patiently guiding beginners. Players staying present, explaining strategy move by move. “It’s just being there to slowly kind of teach them and help them learn,” he said. “That’s been really cool.”
Micah has also designed Check Mates with sustainability in mind. In 2024, he received the Julie Beren Platt Teen Innovation Grant, which enabled him to purchase chess kits, build a website, and develop branding. He refined the logistics to make the program accessible and repeatable, sending starter kits to confirmed venues and providing templates and guidance so communities can host independently.
“We try to make it a really accessible project to different people,” he said. “We send out starter kits to different locations with chess sets to start them off.”
Even now, balancing challenging coursework and major extracurricular commitments as a sophomore, Micah is mentoring younger student ambassadors locally. He hopes the program will continue long after he graduates.
Three years ago, Micah responded to isolation with initiative. What games once gave him during a time of loneliness, he now offers to communities across the country: companionship, challenge, and the steady reassurance that gathering still matters.
For that vision, persistence, and heart, LumenSparQ is proud to honor Micah Presser as a 2026 SparQ and to support the continued expansion of Check Mates.
Sometimes the simplest bridges are built across a chessboard. And sometimes, they are built by a 13-year-old who simply decided to care.
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If this story inspires you and you would like to host an event, contact Micah directly.
To learn more about Check Mates, click here.