Chess an obligatory subject in Russian schools |
Thursday, 15 August 2019 11:00 |
Starting September 1st, all Russian first graders will study chess for at least 33 hours per year. Chess replaces the third period of physical education class, which many parents and teachers felt was excessive in any case.
The Russian Minister of Education, Olga Vasilyeva, said: I am convinced that we should play chess at school. It is difficult to argue against statistics, and at home and abroad, children playing chess have better academic performance on the order of 35-40%. Engagement with the chess helps the children with mental development.
Komsomolskaya Pravda reported on August 5: https://www.kp.ru/online/news/3562079/
English translations and photo of Olga Vasilyeva from ChessBase News (August 9 https://en.chessbase.com/post/russian-championship-superfinal-2019-begins) |