Chess federations of Honduras, Trinidad-Tobago, and Costa Rica invited Jerry Nash, Chairman of FIDE’s Chess in Education Commission to tour their countries and discuss launching large scale chess in education programs. A key part of the visit was to build awareness of chess as an educational tool.
The tour opened doors for the federations to access key decision-makers and to generate momentum for scalable and sustainable chess in education (CIE) projects.
Costa Rica & Trinidad-Tobago
School visits revealed a great interest for the game. Meetings with government officials and education leaders led to a willingness to include CIE as a vehicle for skill building. In Trinidad-Tobago and in Costa Rica, chess federation leaders are now preparing proposals for large scale chess in education programs.
Honduras
The following report from Honduras was edited and translated (with AI assistance) from an original article in Spanish by Juan Carlos Hernández.
March 6, 2024
With the support of FIDE America, the highest authority for our sport at the continental level, Mr. Jerry Nash, Chair of the FIDE (International Chess Federation)’s Chess in Education Commission, arrived in our country on February 28.
Mr. Nash is an authority on the benefits of incorporating chess in the national education system as an extracurricular class and also as a pedagogical tool. During his visit, he had a busy schedule of meetings with educational authorities of the country and visits to television programs. He concluded with a master conference on the topic “Chess and Education” addressed to the Honduran chess community.
The scheduled agenda included a meeting with officials of the Francisco Morazán National Pedagogical University (UPNFM). After listening to Mr. Nash’s presentation, they confirmed their interest in developing a pilot program. This will take place at the university’s Center for Educational Innovation Research (CIIE) school center. Chess will be taught as an extracurricular subject. UPNFM officials show interest in issuing a university certificate that endorses the instructors who teach the chess classes at different educational centers throughout Honduras.
The visit by the Mr. Nash attracted national media attention to Mr. Nash’s purpose in Honduran lands of touting the benefits of chess in the classroom.
Authorities of the Ministry of Education also met with Mr. Nash. After listening to his presentation, they gave a resounding yes to the project of including chess in the national public education system. The Ministry proposed a tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Education, the Pedagogical University and the National Chess Federation of Honduras. These groups will establish the basis for chess to become part of the academic curriculum.
Master Class
Finally, Mr. Nash gave a master class to teachers and lovers of chess. He explained the impact that educational chess can have, demonstrated educational chess teaching methods, and showed why he is a world authority on the subject of educational chess.
Conclusion
Mr. Nash also displayed great kindness and a willingness to collaborate with teachers and administrators. He hopes to return to the country. In combination, these created a synergy that we believe will lead to the inclusion of our sport in our educational system. We look forward to realizing the well-established benefits to the children and youth of Honduras, including cognitive development and critical thinking. Educational chess develops the ability to think, reason, focus, and concentrate among other important skills.
Credits
We thank the authorities of FIDE America, especially its President José Carrillo and its Secretary of the Chess in Schools Commission of FIDE America Mauricio Arias. Without them the visit of Mr. Jerry Nash would not have been possible.
Thanks also to the authorities of the Secretary of Education for their willingness to adopt chess as an extracurricular subject and as a pedagogical tool. We appreciate UPNFM for receiving us and joining the initiative. Macris School and its professor Carlos Figueroa deserve thanks for facilitating meetings that will greatly benefit national chess.
We also thank the Undersecretary of Finance for his coordinating of important meetings and his support for the project. The Comayagua Chess League deserves praise for its logistical management.
Finally we thank ICN.Digital and the Café Caliente Program for the television coverage provided. We appreciate inviting our community to follow these media outlets disseminating positive news for the country.
Juan Carlos Hernández
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< More on this story from the FIDE Chess in Education Commission website >
