This year’s Judit Polgar Global Chess Festival featured a distinctly new approach. This was evident from the multi-faceted mix of interactive exhibitions, presentations, entertainment, and award ceremonies.
The well-attended event took place at the spectacular Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest. Unconfirmed reports were that Chessbase India streamed programs to an audience of over 40,000 viewers. A key theme was the cross-cultural appeal of chess. It excites interest as a competitive sport, an educational tool, and as entertainment. Chess has become increasingly popular as a result of the global of Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit TV series and the recreational constraints imposed by the pandemic.
The Educational Chess Summit portion of the conference featured contemporary thinkers offering commentary on the connection between chess and education. The Festival was also the setting for presentations on the Judit Polgar Method, a practical and highly regarded approach to the application of chess in education. This year’s Festival attendees were introduced to its newest element – Chess PE.
The summit recognized the efforts of leading “Goodwill Ambassadors of Chess“. This year’s awards went to:
- Jerry Nash [US] – Goodwill Ambassador of Chess in Education.
- Jerry was a featured speaker at the conference along with Jesper Hall, and chairman of the Educational Commission of the European Chess Union. Both are advisors to the US CIE Coalition.
- Kenneth Rogoff [US] – Goodwill Ambassador of Science and Chess
- Viswanathan Anand [India] – Goodwill Ambassador of Chess as a Sport
- Purling – Goodwill Ambassador of Chess in Art
The Conference was organized, live-streamed, and recorded by the Judit Polgar Chess Foundation. Pictures and full video of the proceedings are available on the globalchessfestival.com website
Watch this two-minute clip to understand why the Festival generated rave reviews and has set a high bar for future CIE conference organizers to match.
