Educational chess enters universities

The West University of Timişoara (UVT) and the Romanian Chess Federation have launched the university discipline "Didactics of Teaching Educational Chess", which will be included in the academic offer starting with the 2026-2027 academic year. The initiative aims to train future teachers who will be able to teach chess in pre-university education and expand the national program "Education through Chess". The launch took place at the headquarters of the National Agency for Sports, in the presence of representatives of the Romanian Chess Federation, the West University of Timişoara and the authorities in the field of education and sports.

• Chess teachers will be trained during their studies

The President of the Romanian Chess Federation, Vlad Ardeleanu, stated that the new discipline marks the transition to a new model of teacher training. Until now, the Federation trained teachers and professors after completing their university studies. Starting this fall, the training will be carried out directly within the faculty, so that graduates can introduce chess as an optional subject or occupy future chairs dedicated to this subject. According to Ardeleanu, the chess optional is already among the most appreciated optional subjects in schools, being surpassed only by fun mathematics and English, according to studies conducted by the Romanian Chess Federation.

The new subject will be able to be followed by students of programs in the fields of Educational Sciences and Physical Education and Sports, but also by other UVT students, as a complementary subject.

• Federation: chess has 30,000 registered athletes

On the occasion of World Chess Day, the Romanian Chess Federation also presented data on the evolution of this sport in Romania. According to Vlad Ardeleanu, the federation has approximately 30,000 registered athletes, which places it in third place among the sports federations in Romania, after football and basketball. In recent years, the number of registered practitioners has increased by over 30%.

• UVT: chess develops essential skills for education

The rector of the West University of Timisoara, Marilen Gabriel Pirtea, stated that chess is more than a sports discipline, being an educational tool that develops critical thinking, analytical skills, decision-making and strategic planning. According to him, the university does not aim to train champions, but to train teachers who will contribute to the expansion of chess in the pre-university system and the development of a mass movement. The discipline will be integrated into pedagogical training programs, and future teachers will be able to acquire the necessary skills to teach educational chess. Asked how many teachers could be trained in the coming years, the rector stated that the number would depend on the interest of students and the capacity of the education system to integrate this discipline.

• Authorities support the expansion of chess in education

The Vice President of the National Agency for Sports, Cosmin Tabără, expressed his hope that chess would eventually become a mandatory subject in pre-university education. He appreciated that chess contributes to the intellectual development of students and invoked his own experience, showing that one of his children studied this discipline in an after-school program, with beneficial effects on their school career. The event was also attended by the Vice President of the West University of Timişoara, Octavian Mădălin Bunoiu, the State Counselor within the Presidential Administration, Raluca-Roxana Butnaru, as well as the Secretary General of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Lukasz Turlej.