"Chess is the most democratic sport," President of the International Chess Federation asserted. "It is easily accessible, does not require large financial investments and promotes a child's intellectual development. Chess playing children improve their performance in all subjects. A positive result of introducing chess into educational programmes in schools around the world is obvious."Programmes for studying chess in schools are being actively implemented in 180 countries around the world. In Armenia, chess is introduced as an obligatory subject, which is studied twice a week. In Vietnam, 9 years ago, we started chess electives programme and now chess is an obligatory subject in Vietnamese schools. The Vietnamese show excellent results at world championships. Mastering chess is part of the mathematics programme in Latvia. Among the countries that pay special attention to a study of chess in schools are China and the CIS countries.
FIDE, as Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said, is working on preparation of textbooks and teaching aids, conducting seminars on mastering and teaching chess. Methodical recommendations for teachers for the first and second years of study have already been prepared. Not only schools in Russian regions, but also universities actively engage in cooperation.
Head of FIDE proposes to consolidate the right to receive additional points when enrolling in universities for winners of all-Russian and international chess championships. He also proposed to introduce a special nomination for teachers who teach children to play chess within the framework of the All-Russian contest "Teacher of the Year of Russia".
"This innovation has already been implemented in Kalmykia: we paid for trips of the best teachers – winners of the "Teacher of the Year" contest – to world chess competitions. On the part of FIDE, I would like the above nomination to be introduced at the All-Russian contest "Teacher of the Year", Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said.
