Starting from the new academic year, children of preschool and primary school age will be able to play chess not as a side activity outside the curriculum, but as an additional lesson through Master Skills.

Thanks to special educational programs prepared by the Hellenic Chess Federation (ESO) and recently approved by the Education Policy Institute, teachers will be able to further enhance their lesson by teaching young students the basic movements and basic principles of chess.

Although for more than 20 years it has been possible to take lessons at school, along with lessons, either in the afternoon or on Saturdays, on individual initiatives of school principals or guardian associations, it is now institutionally possible to join the timetable. For ESO, this is a very important step. “This is the first institutional and important step to include chess in the regular program,” Federation President Stathis Efstathopoulos said in an interview with APE-MPE.

Chess is considered a spiritual sport because it trains the mind. In the world literature there are many titles dedicated to the strategy of moves during the game. As Mr. Efstathopoulos noted, the inclusion in the curriculum of primary education is not aimed at in-depth study or intensive training, but at the study of the basic movements and, above all, as he pointed out, the introduction to the basic principles.

“By playing chess, children develop patience, they learn that there is no need to rush to make decisions, but to make decisions, you need to study the facts well. The facts are, in fact, that in chess everything is on the carpet. In addition, chess teaches children that everyone is responsible for their own decisions: if you lose, it is because of the decisions you made. In addition, it teaches them that in order to win, you need to work, train. Your success is based on your work and yourself. That is why we started at a young age,” Mr. Efstathopoulos explained to APE-MPE.

Patience, perseverance and responsibility are the main principles with which the Federation seeks to bring children of preschool and primary school age closer together through chess games.

“We do not want all children to become world champions,” Mr. Efstathopoulos explained, “but the more children come into contact with chess, the more children will be carried away, continue and, why not, become champions.”

In particular, ESO has prepared two educational programs for school chess:

One is for Kindergarten and 1st and 2nd grade elementary school students and is called “Chess and Imagination” and the other is for 4th, 5th and 6th grade elementary school students called “Chess, game of strategy and mathematics. game for everyone!

As for the practical part, the preparation of educational programs will be undertaken by teachers. In fact, from September next year, teachers and kindergarten teachers will be able to choose these programs for inclusion in teaching at master classes. “The role of the Federation, local unions and associations, of which there are about 200, is to help schools and teachers, either through workshops or with educational materials to support activities,” Mr. Efstathopoulos said.

The programs will be “tested” in practice from the coming academic year, and there is optimism on the part of the Federation that there will be a great response. In fact, the Federation plans to develop an appropriate educational program for universities. “It is known from many scientific studies that learning and playing chess has many benefits for children. It is no coincidence that the vast majority of our champions at a young age are also excellent students at school. It is expected that the benefits for the new generation from the introduction of chess in schools are enormous,” concluded Mr. Efstathopoulos.

Source: RES-IPE