Chess-mad Armenia makes the game compulsory in schools

The country’s president is head of the national chess association – and now primary schools are getting funding to find new generation of grandmasters.

ARMENIA IS GETTING its pawns in a row by making chess a compulsory subject in primary schools.

ArmeniaDiaspora.com is reporting that the country that borders eastern Turkey made the decision last Thursday at a government cabinet meeting. Around €1m will be allocated to schools through the Chess Academy of Armenia to acquire chess manuals and chess sets and to train teachers to raise the next generation of chess grandmasters.

Children from the age of six will learn the rudiments of the game and be coached for two hours a week. The decision is designed to help “boost children’s mental capabilities” according to the Armenian government.

The Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan was re-elected president of the Armenian Chess Federation last February. Armenia Now explains that Armenia enjoys “high status as a chess nation”. The country won two Olympiad titles in 2006 and 2008.

Sargsyan “despite his busy schedule as the head of state, always finds time to meets (sic) players before and after major chess competitions”.

Street vendors play chess in the Armenian capital Yerevan PA Images/Misha Japaridze

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