Online training for chess teachers will be launched in Moldova by this yearend. The project is implemented by the National Chess Academy of Moldova that already contributed to the training of 20 chess teachers from both banks of the Nistru River. In a news conference at IPN, the Academy’s manager general Ion Girnet said that for chess to be developed as a sport, the chess subject should be included in the school curriculum.
The National Chess Academy was founded in 2010. Great international master Viorel Iordachescu, who is a member of the Olympic chess team, is the Academy’s president. The Academy’s goal is to develop and promote chess in Moldova as a sport and as a school subject. The Academy organized a news conference themed “Development of chess in Moldova at the European level”. President of the European Chess Union Silvio Danailov was invited to it. Legendary chess player Garry Kasparov had a live appearance and expressed his support for the development of chess in Moldova.
In September, the Academy obtained the exclusive right to implement specialized software for teaching chess at a distance “Chess Teaching Platform”. The software was designed by Kasparov Chess Foundation Europe. There was signed a trilateral cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Education, the Kasparov Chess Foundation Europe and the National Chess Academy.
The “Chess Unites!” project is implemented with support from the EU and UNDP in April 2013 – April 2014. Twenty teachers of chess were trained within it. There were also worked out the teaching aids needed to implement chess in schools.
Ion Girnet said the lack of skilled teachers leads to a loss of interest on the part of the young generation. As to the chess board set up in the center of Chisinau, he said such boards will be placed in all the districts of the capital city. He urged the chess amateurs who have ideas how to promote chess to submit their initiatives to the Academy.
According to Ion Girnet, chess will be introduced in kindergartens from next year as the children start to learn cheers at the age of 4-5 now. “The Academy has whole groups of children of such an age,” said the manager general.
