The program aspires to promote intellectual growth and improve academic performance of children and youth in Bulgaria. A comprehensive training program and a series of national and international chess tournaments is at the core of the initiative, together with publication of much needed chess handbooks and a training-for-coaches component.
In the first year the project will involve children chess clubs from five Bulgarian cities: Varna, Shumen, Pleven, Plovdiv and Blagoevgrad. Additional five chess clubs in smaller regional towns will be set up and each of these will provide regular training to 30 kids. In the second and third year the project will expand to include five more clubs per year taking the total number of clubs to 20 and total number of children participating in the program – to 600.
Each year a series of five ‘regional’ competitions will be held, during which children will be taught, along with intricacies of chess play, the essentials of tournament rules (e.g. working with chess clocks, taking notes of theirs and opponent’s moves, tournament ethics). The winners will take part in a National Tournament and up this ladder competition, in a ‘World’s Chess Raising Stars’ international tournament. All tournaments will be held in four age groups (up to 8, 10, 12 and 16 years of age), in seven rounds and following the Swiss system of tournament pairing.
