Retired NYPD officer and FDNY firefighter Joe Miccio created and patented the innovative teaching game QuickChess 25 years ago. Now, he’s looking for the community’s help to bring it into the digital age.
Miccio, 57, now resides in Long Beach, but has deep roots in Queens. He attended high school at St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows and served for 10 years as a police officer and sergeant in Brooklyn. He is now retired after serving 33 years as a firefighter at Ladder Company 127 in Jamaica and Engine Company 295 in Whitestone.
In 1991, Miccio came up with the game concept when he was asked to teach a friend’s daughter how to play chess. It was then he innovated QuickChess — a board game-style chess teaching tool aimed at getting beginners up to speed and sharpening the skills of more experienced players in under 10 minutes.
“I have parents telling me they’re using it to teach their kids and at the same time teach themselves,” Miccio said. “It’s for all levels of skill … and kids don’t even know they’re learning because they’re having fun.”
According to Miccio, his unique teaching system gives student learners all the benefits of playing chess: including improved logic, decision making and problem solving skills.
The game quickly earned the attention of two individuals in the top tier of the field: Chess Grandmaster and four-time Women’s World Champion Susan Polgar and U.S. National Chess Master Bruce Pandolfini. Both champions use the game to teach their own students and Polgar remains actively involved in the construction of many of the game’s challenges.
The board game has taught over 1 million students. Now, Miccio wants to reach a new generation of Chess players: one raised in a digital world.
To achieve this goal, Miccio has begun a Kickstarter campaign — a global crowdfunding platform — to finance the new project.
Funds from the Kickstarter would be used to move QuickChess onto the digital screen. Miccio seeks to take all of the advantages of a digital platform — unique animations, engaging graphics and an interactive user experience — and combine it with his award-winning QuickChess approach to learning.
“We’re really, really excited for the game to go digital,” Miccio said.
Concept art for the QuickChess digital app can be seen below. Those who wish to learn more about QuickChess or pledging to the digital campaign can visit the game’s website and Kickstarter page.
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