Inmate to checkmate: Woody Harrelson plays chess at British prison

Woody Harrelson has surprised a group of inmates at HMP Wormwood Scrubs by turning up to play chess with them.

The Hollywood actor, 62, attended one of a weekly series of Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) events on Thursday with founder and CEO of the charity, Malcolm Pein.

Mr Pein, who holds the title of International Master, was introduced to Harrelson around five years ago by a mutual friend and has been teaching the thespian chess ever since.

“We have a game going 365 days a year,” he told The Telegraph, saying that he would describe Harrelson as a “strong amateur player” who typically plays the game online.

Speaking about the event at the prison in west London, Mr Pein, who has been The Telegraph’s chess correspondent for 35 years, said that Harrelson “absolutely loved it”.

He added: “What was particularly nice was that a couple of prisoners came up to us and said how they’ve been really depressed in prison, but that this has totally changed how they were feeling.”

His charity runs weekly chess clubs in 14 prisons across the country in coordination with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), with more to be added in the future. The aim is to improve educational social outcomes for disadvantaged groups.

While Harrelson lives in the US, he has recently been in London performing in the West End production of Ulster American at the Riverside Studios. Mr Pein did not rule out the star reappearing at one of the prison chess clubs in the future.

“He’s not in the UK that much but he really enjoyed it,” Mr Pein said. “He was great with everyone and I can reveal that he won all the games except one.”

The pair are pictured playing side-by-side with the inmates and standing outside of the prison entrance together. On his social media, Mr Pein wrote: “Thanks to the great Woody Harrelson for taking on the prison chess club.”

‘Chess has a positive effect on behaviour’

“There are some good players in prison,” the internationally renowned player and author said, explaining: “We’re just propagating chess because it’s so good for prisoners in so many ways.”

He said that “teaching them to think before they act” and “helping them learn how to concentrate” are among the benefits.

“Of course, equally important, I think it has a positive effect on behaviour,” he said, explaining: “The recent Inspectorate of Prisons report highlighted the lack of meaningful activities as one of the biggest deficiencies of Britain’s prisons – and so what we’re delivering is meaningful activity.”

In the last three years, CSC has been able to enter inmates in the World Prison Online Chess Championships, with the team at HMP Bronzefield, a women’s prison, winning silver.

The not-for-profit charity has also worked with over 2,000 schools and currently runs chess clubs in 300 schools a week around the UK through a dedicated band of chess players and volunteers.

Mr Pein said the charity’s mission is to establish a chess club in every school and prison across the country.

During the pandemic, it supported more than 70 prisons by sending inmates chess puzzles to complete.

“We sent prisoners chess puzzles because they were stuck in their cells, so we distributed something every week during Covid,” he explained.

He added that the puzzles were translated into Romanian and Polish because of high demand from the prisoners.

James Wise-Ford, head of residence at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, said: “The value this game brings to our prisoners is undeniable – it teaches patience, discipline and aids in their rehabilitation.

“It was fantastic to have Woody Harrelson at our prison, playing against the prisoners and teaching them the value of this important activity.”