Chess in Schools

Ever since I was a little boy who played chess, the plan of chess in school and making chess a compulsory subject have been lurking around. The idea of every kid learning chess in schools is a very interesting concept for people who have experienced the benefits of chess in their lives. However, the not so great success of the chess in schools program in several countries of the world definitely leads us to contemplate on the fact that what is it that is not being done correctly?

Hundreds of hours have been spent discussing curriculum, what needs to be taught in the chess in schools program and how it has to be taught. But I feel before we go into that direction, we definitely need to answer the question: why is chess in schools important as a project? Is it to create chess champions? Or is it because there are tangible educational and social benefits to the game of chess and when taught at a young age can enrich the lives of the youngsters. Both of them would require a different approach overall. But the main reason why a lot of policy makers are interested to back the chess in schools project is because they see the qualities needed in a chess game – concentration, analytical thinking, decision making etc. to be an excellent tool to mould the minds of the youth.

Once the overall "why" is resolved, we come to the more practical question: should chess be introduced as a part of the curriculum and made a compulsory subject, or should it be an optional subject where kids who are interested will attend. Compulsion is something that doesn't go down too well with sports, don't you think? Yes, the reach is higher, but very soon we will have kids who have absolutely no interest in the sport and are attending it just because it is compulsory. I am sure you had your own compulsory subject in school which you didn't like – history, geography, mathematics and so on. Think about chess being one of them, for thousands of kids, a few years down the line! What could be a better idea is to spread awareness and let everyone know the benefits of chess and create an infrastructure around it, then enforcing someone to learn chess.

For example there could be seminars held inside the school for parents where they are told the benefits that their children could gain if they learnt chess. Seminars should be held for kids where they aren't told about the rules of chess, but rather introduced to the beautiful world of chess – how the game was invented, how it spread, how India is growing as a chess nation and who are the champions of the sport.

Once the interest is created, there should ways in which this can be nurtured. A wonderful idea is to open chess clubs inside schools that have the infrastructure of tables, chairs, chess sets, maybe a projector. All interested kids can meet there under the guidance of a passionate coach. And to complement it on a broader scale, you can have chess parks like the state of Meghalaya is doing where people can gather to play chess at one location for no fees, or like what we at ChessBase India are doing with Phoenix mills, where we have open chess clubs inside the mall.

When a good talent is spotted from this, appropriate opportunities should be afforded in terms of tournaments and training. In this regard, the state of Odisha has already taken a wonderful step by creating the Prochessta Academy, which is entirely supported by the state government. This academy will have wonderful trainers who will train the best talents in the state to become champions.

In order for the chess in schools program to reach its goal not just in terms of numbers but in essence, where the kids are enjoying chess, benefitting from chess and champions are created, one needs the right people to join in. To share their knowledge and passion for the sport. To create more trainers and people who are passionate about the sport. Only then will chess really grow and make a positive impact on the society and community. Making anything compulsory, might not be a solution in my opinion, but then you might have a different viewpoint, and I would love to hear from you.

Video report with Sagar talking at the seminar