Wednesday 15 September 2021 saw the International School Sport Federation (ISF) and the International Chess Federation (FIDE) officialise their cooperation by signing the Memorandum of Understanding in Belgrade, Serbia, in the objective of going further in implementing chess in schools.
This official signing ceremony took place in the framework of the ISF ‘s ‘School Sport Forum – The springboard for a healthy lifestyle’, an event gathering a wide variety of governmental decision makers in the fields of sport and education as well as some of the most renowned and respected organisations and federations to discuss the role of education and sport in the development of youth. Putting pen to paper were ISF President Mr Laurent Petrynka, and FIDE President Mr Arkady Dvorkovich.
Following its completion, Mr Dvorkovich spoke about the development aims of chess in schools: “We consider sport as a way to promote inclusion, development education, and gender equality. Chess is a great tool to improve educational outcomes and it keeps gaining recognition in school programs all over the world, while ISF’s goal is to encourage education through sport and student athletes”.
Mr Petrynka reiterated his message saying: “The ISF will do whatever it takes to promote chess among students and as sport in its own rights. You can count on us at each opportunity to promote chess in school sport. There are so many values within Chess, which mirror those of the ISF”.
Chess is a very special sport for ISF President Petrynka. From his arrival in ISF, he immediately added Chess to the list of sports in the ISF’s largest event, the Gymnasiade. There was never a debate about its position in school sport, as the benefits of Chess for youth have always been undeniable.
The International School Sport Federation is delighted to continue the strong development and promotion of chess in school sport with its inclusion in the U15 World School Sport Games, taking place in Belgrade, Serbia, from 11-19 September. As of today athletes from Montenegro, Namibia, Uganda and Ukraine have completed three days of competition, with one final to go.