14-year-old math, chess prodigy enrolls at UCLA

Vellotti said chess has provided life lessons — patience, strategy, grace in defeat and creativity — that he’ll apply to his studies at UCLA. "Often in chess, you have to think of a creative way to break through the position or win the game. When you're solving a math problem, often the solution is not something you initially thought of and you need to find a creative way to solve it."

A family affair

Daniel Vellotti and his wife, Ava Harmon-Vellotti, have moved to Los Angeles to be close to their sons and expand the chess school they run. The elder Vellottis believe that UCLA is the perfect environment for Luke to grow and reach his potential as a thinker and as a leader.

"I feel comfortable because I know he's mature for his age, he's accelerated socially, and he can handle himself quite well," Daniel said. "I'm optimistic and I'm very excited for him. UCLA is an incredible campus and the staff and faculty have been so helpful, so I'm sure it's going to work out really well."

It also helps that Luke will have his big brother’s ready support. Carl, who will study bioengineering and also aspires to become a doctor, said attending the same university has long been the brothers' plan.

"I honestly consider myself to be Luke's biggest fan," said Carl, who is also a chess dynamo with two state championships under his belt and has been ranked among the Top 100 under-18 players in the U.S. "He's just an amazing person."

Using chess for good

The brothers have worked together to use chess as a platform for community service, something they plan to continue at UCLA. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Luke raised money to support relief efforts by simultaneously playing 20 games on 20 different boards. Each opponent pledged a fee to compete against the youngster, helping him to take in more than $1,500 for the American Red Cross.

They also taught chess to residents of Cherry Gulch, a boarding school in Emmett, Idaho, for adolescent boys struggling with depression, family conflict and violence. Under their tutelage, the school's chess team won Idaho’s novice state championship four years in a row.

For his part, Carl organized a program called Checkmate Hunger for each of the past three years, inviting people to donate canned food for each of his victories during the Idaho state chess championship tournament. The endeavor brought in roughly 2,300 pounds of food for the Idaho Food Bank. Carl’s chess students from his parent’s school plan to continue to support the cause now that he is at UCLA.

"It's important for us to use our skills to help the community," Luke said. "We'll definitely look for ways to help out in L.A."

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14-year-old math, chess prodigy enrolls at UCLA

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