Gliwice launches second edition of chess education program

The city of Gliwice has inaugurated the second edition of the ‘Gliwice uczą szachów’ (Gliwice teaches chess) program. Following a successful first year that reached nearly 2,000 children and 100 trained teachers across 22 schools, the initiative aims to integrate chess into mandatory lessons for first-grade students.

The program utilizes the ‘Elementarz Szachowy’ and the local ChessGrow platform to foster logical thinking, planning, and problem-solving skills. For the upcoming year, the project plans to expand to 10 additional schools. The expansion includes the distribution of 2,000 textbooks, 1,000 chess sets, and nearly 100 chessboards.

Ultimately, the initiative seeks to reach over 4,000 students across 202 primary school classes in Gliwice. Mayor Katarzyna Kuczyńska-Budka emphasized that the goal is to ensure chess education is accessible to every child in the city, regardless of their school, to develop skills useful beyond the chessboard.