In one of the final posts of 2023, Neil Dietsch offered observations for 2024 related to a “review of educational chess trends and events likely to influence Chess in Education (CIE), for better or worse, in 2024.” At that time he suggested several “signs of hope and resilience” that could have a positive impact on the growth of CIE. How accurate were these observations?
The previous article highlighted the following topics:
- Role of AI in CIE
- Educator Trends
- Chess Federations
- Educational Chess Trends: The World
What Happened in 2024?
For most K-12 classroom educators, the common use of AI to develop or deliver lessons is still on the far horizon. But the issue of students’ use of AI to complete assignments is a current hot topic that includes the discussion of whether this use constitutes cheating. Online chess lesson delivery assisted by AI is increasingly common and will continue to shape both content and marketing.
The trends for educators mentioned in 2023 are still relevant a year later. The challenges of student engagement, focus, problem solving, learning loss, along with teacher burnout continue. They remain high on the list of discussion topics in online education forums and conferences. These issues will not be resolved any time soon. But they do provide solid talking points for the relevance of educational chess to both teachers and students alike. Anyone who plans to approach the education community with a proposal for a chess initiative should keep these topics in mind.
Chess Federations and CIE
Increasingly more and more chess federations around the world are exploring how CIE can expand their growth while accessing new human and financial resources. Some federations, due to factors such as the nature of their organization or the lack of project management expertise, are taking longer to capitalize on the opportunity. And of course there are always the challenges of leadership turnover within the federation or in the government. Other federations have discovered the value of bringing in expertise from outside the federation – or even the country – to help them make their case to stakeholders.
Global CIE Trends – New Collaborative Opportunities
The author included this quote from me in 2023. “The global interest in chess in education – from chess federations and government education leaders – has never been higher. In 2024, the EDU Commission plans to continue its work to advance the message of chess as an educational tool, to share new resources for educators, and to help countries to develop sustainable and scalable CIE initiatives.” This continued to hold true in 2024 and is likely to increase even more in 2025.
On almost a weekly basis, I am on the phone, online, or in person providing consultation or delivering presentations to leaders in government, education, and business. The interest is high and leaders are increasingly interested in CIE to impact education and the economy.
If ever there was a moment in time that offered openings for educational chess to find a home in the education community, it is now. Too often these educational chess trends do not last long. The chess community would do well to take advantage of this opportunity.
Author:
Jerry Nash
Jerry Nash is the Chairman of the FIDE Chess in Education Commission. He is a co-founder, director and National Chess Education Consultant for Chess in Education – US.