Resolution of the International research and practice conference “Chess as an innovative school subject in the education system”

Moscow, Russian State Social University,
January 31 – February 1, 2010

The key issues of the chess education in our modern world were discussed at the conference and first of all the necessity of chess presence as a pre-school and school study discipline in the education system. Today the education systems of many countries of the world are looking for means to improve the cognitive abilities of children and it’s tough to suggest a better resource than chess.
The conferences in Dallas (USA, 2003), Calvia (Spain, 2004), Yakutsk (RF, 2006), Aberdeen (Scotland, 2007), Tomsk (RF, 2008), Moscow (RF, 2009), Turin (Italy, 2009), Elist (RF, 2009) were dedicated to this subject. Huge experience of teaching chess is accumulated abroad (in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Spain, Italy, Canada, Mexico, Moldova, Peru, USA, Turkey, Uruguay, etc.) as well as in Russia (in Kalmykia Republic, Sakha Republic, Tomsk region, Pskov region, Khanti-Mansiysk autonomous district, Moscow, etc.). Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, Kaliningradskaya, Sverdlovskaya, Chelyabinskaya, Samarskaya, Penzenskaya regions demonstrated their readiness to adopt chess as a school subject.
A lot has been done. We thank the FIDE President K.N.Ilyumzhinov for his significant contribution in advancing chess in the education system.
The conference was held due to the participation of the governing bodies of Kalmykia Republic, Sakha Republic, Tomsk region, Pskov region, Khanti-Mansiysk autonomous district which pay a special attention to chess as a school subject. We thank the organization committees of the conferences “Issues and perspectives of developing chess education in Russia” held in Tomsk (2008) and in Elist (2009) at a very high class level.
We would also like to thank the “Teachers’ newspaper” which has published a number of conceptual materials during 2006-2010 concerning chess education as well as the newspapers “Chess Tomsk” and “Chess in Ulyanovskiy region”.
We thank the website of the USA Chess Federation, the website of the Chairman of the FIDE Committee “Chess as school” Blanco (Venezuela), the website of compulsory chess education (RF) which publishes methodical materials concerning school chess subject.
Records of international congresses, as well as our conference’s, conclusively prove that chess may be the invariant of school and preschool educational discipline.

Of course, chess, as a discipline, has a lot of problems:
1) absence of a basic international methodic site
2) many countries lack special universal education publications
3) Media does not give a proper coverage of chess lessons development
4) Teachers almost do not participate in the discussion of their problems at all-Russian Internet-teachers' meeting chess forums and leading foreign educational portals
5) In most countries the central media pay so little attention to the problems of chess universal education

In view of the above, THE CONFERENCE IS PLEADING:

To International Chess Federation (FIDE):

1. Consider an initiative of the Head of the Kalmyk Republic, FIDE President K. Ilyumzhinov, the introduction of chess discipline in school curricula for those ministries of education and chess federations, which countries are included in the FIDE structure.
2. In the year of 2010 an International Congress on Chess education is supposed to be hold during the XXXIX Olympic games (Russia, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Ugra)

To the Education and Science Ministry:
1. To consider chess educational discipline as a tool for renovation of Educational System.
2. To allow to teach chess discipline in schools in the first half of the day as a one of the main subjects as an invariant object of the school curriculum.
3. To recommend the RSSU experience, as an example for other Universities, to establish a Department of chess practicing teachers and organizers in schools and children's clubs.

To Russian Chess Federation:
1. To recommend to the executive authority of the regions, interested in building and development of chess education, holding Regional Conference on chess education since (2010 to 2011). The Conference will be based on scientific and practical conferences, that took place in Tomsk (2008), Elista (2009) and Moscow (2009 and 2010).
2 Recommend regional chess federations to create sections on the “chess as a school subject” problems.

Resolution adopted unanimously on Feb. 1, 2010

This resolution directed the President of FIDE, the Minister of Education and Science, the head of Russian Chess Federation.