Project Database
May 2012 – May 2015
Developing and Retaining Human Capital
Chess in Schools
Veselin Topalov 2006 Chess Club, Varna
BGN 600,000
Elaborating on the benefits of chess play for children and youth development would take to affirm in many different ways what now is the obvious: chess promotes intellectual growth and improves academic performance. The grant at hand is aimed at bringing these benefits to the reach of a large number of children and youth in Bulgaria. A comprehensive training program and series of chess tournaments is at the core of the project, 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 towns (Varna, Shumen, Pleven, Plovdiv and Blagoevgrad); five more 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. Demonstrable success of such worthwhile undertaking should create a strong momentum for considering the inclusion of chess into the curriculum of primary schools in Bulgaria.
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