Monday, January 30 the Chess in the System of Education international research and practice conference was held in the hall of the RSSU Academic council. The event was organized with the support of the RSSU Cup, Moscow Open Organizing Committee and the Legacy Square Capital fund and caused much interest: all those wishing to listen to the reports could hardly accommodate themselves in the hall.
The conference was opened by the Russian State Social University Rector, Doctor of Science Natalya Borisovna Pochinok, Moscow Chess Federation first Vice-President, Head of the Chess in School fund Nikita Vladimirovich Kim, the world’s oldest grandmaster Yury L’vovich Averbach – a famous specialist in the field of chess history and culture.
Natalya Borisovna Pochinok was the first to take the floor. She stressed that in her opinion the subject of the chess education development is very important now, doesn’t matter if it affects a child’s life or socialization of a disabled person. Besides we have to remember about the grandmasters of an older generation who sometimes also suffer the lack of the social support.
At the end of Nataya Borisovna’s speech the audience greeted with applause Yury L’vovich Averbach, who entered the hall. Yury L’vovich spoke of the history of the chess development in the Soviet time and expressed the opinion that the state must fully cover the social matters in the chess environment.
Nikita Vladimirovich Kim was speaking immediately after the legendary grandmaster. He reminded about the approaching jubilee of Yury L’vovich (February 8 he will turn 95 – editorial remark). “The intellect is a basic value in the Russian society, and chess is a universal tool, contributing into the development of intellectual skills of as a child so as an adult,” – Kim thinks. Nikita Vladimirovich also told about the energetic support by the FIDE President Kirsan Nikolaevich Ilyumzhinov. His support secured the business meetings with Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, having resulted into the rapid process of the chess development in school.
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“The Russian society understands that highly skilled personnel should be brought up starting with school years. Luckily, this kind of sport – chess is significantly cheap. More or less chess themselves, textbooks and an opportunity for the teachers’ preparation are needed. Several years ago our idea to enter the universal education was supported by the System charity fund and the Lift v Budushcheee project (Elevator to the Future). The project was launched in 50 schools at the pioneering stage. And by the end of 2016 223 schools of Moscow were able to join the project with the support of the Education department of Moscow and its Head Issak Iosifovich Kalina, that makes almost one third of the total number of schools in the capital,” N. Kim said.
The Director of the 2017 Moscow Open Tournament Artem Zamfirovich Akhmetov reminded of the RSSU successes in the course of last 15 years. “The chess started to develop in the RSSU in 2002. We have a lot to be proud of: many of our graduates are international grandmasters, Sergey Karyakin, Ian Nepomnyashchiy, Valentina Gunina are among them…” Artem Zamfirovich also marked the success of the RSSU Cup, Moscow Open that assembles more than 1,800 participants for several years in a row, being one of the most mass chess festivals in the world.
We should also add that it’s planned to prepare suggestions and recommendations for the federal authorities of the executive power, including the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, the Ministry of Sport and the Ministry of Labor.