Skill Developing Chess in the Hungarian National Curriculum
Originally chess has been an educational, thinking-developing tool, but as the centuries went by its purpose shifted more to just a game, sport and to measuring outstanding performance. Judit Polgar now puts chess back to its initial function and uses it as an educational tool, to assist children's school curriculum studies by developing their thinking abilities. An important aspect of this method is that it is not the game of chess as a sport but its systematic rules are the foundation for teaching. The teachers do not have to be chess experts, they merely need to know the rules well. Rather than chess as an independent activity, it is used as a background for the processing of general subjects. It provides structure, abstract terrain and solid relationships. Therefore it is an excellent substitute for the lack of such experiences in the digital culture.

PhD. Eva Gyarmathy
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Senior Researcher
