yuccas: we end tonight here in los angeles with a man who s making a difference teaching kids life lessons one chess move at a time. it s the most unique piece in the game. yuccas: for 12-year-old andre, chess is more than just a game gee, i use a lot of stuff i ve learned on the chessboard in real life, like think before you move. think before i act out. yuccas: he s just one of thousands of students from some of l.a. s toughest neighborhoods learning to play. i learned to play chess at age 13. it was a pivotal moment in my life. yuccas: damen fletcher grew up in compton. after going away to college, he came home to find his childhood friends struggling. some of them had fallen into te gang life and drugs. and i just wondered why did i have such a kinch outco,
o donnell: chess is a game of make-believe, kings and queens, pawns and rooks. so what does that have to do with real life? well it turns out, quite a bit. here s cbs jamie yuccas. it s the most unique piece in the game. reporter: for 12-year-old andre, chess is more than just a game. i use a lot of stuff they learned on the chessboard in real life, like think before you move. think before i act out. reporter: he s just one of thousands of students from some of l.a. s toughest neighborhoods learning to play. i learned to play chess at age 13. it was a pivotal, pivotal moment in my life. reporter: damen fletcher grew up in compton. after going away to college, he came home to find his childhood friends struggling. some of them had fallen into the prison system, gang life, and drugs. and i just wondered why did i have such a different outcome? and it was chess.