International Chess Day

My dear chess friends, to you, to all who love our game, happy International Chess Day, today we celebrate it as we continue to develop chess all across the world. And I hope that both today and every day you'll get a chance to play and also to show how to play to your friends, to those who didn't enter our chess community yet. So let's do it together and let's do it again every day. This day I would like to stress that we have been committed fully to bring chess uh all across the globe to all corners of our beautiful world from big tournaments where top masters, top grand masters play for the prizes and we continue to increase the prices. We continue to have more and more events. But this year is special. We dedicated it to social chess, to the impact that chess can make in all area of our social life, in all our communities. Bring chess to the classrooms, bring chess to community halls, to refugee camps, even to prison cells everywhere. We show what impact can the 64 ...

Chess is more than a game—it’s a tool for healing, growth, and rebuilding. As part of the FIDE Year of Social Chess, FIDE Social Commission is excited to welcome you to July – The Month of Recovery, featuring a unique International Master Class Series you won’t want to miss. Why Recovery? Throughout July, we’re sharing inspiring stories and best practices that show how chess can support recovery from addiction, cognitive challenges, and serious illness. Where: Virtual event. Register Online via Zoom link  (Meeting ID: 851 4349 2687, Passcode: 930160) Duration: 45 minutes each (20-minute talk + 20-minute Q&A) Language: English (but feel free to ask questions in Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese!) Meet our hosts: Juan Antonio Montero & Rodrigo Barbeito. From Club de Ajedrez Magic Extremadura (Spain) For over 15 years, this pioneering team has used chess as a tool for psychological recovery and social reintegration. Their work supports individuals in addiction recovery, pr...

About 70% of the adult population (US, UK, Germany, Russia, India) has played chess at some point in their lives, 605 million adults play chess regularly.  Chess is a two player strategy board game where the aim is to move different types of playing piece, each with a prescribed set of possible moves, around a chequered square board trying to capture the opponents ‘king’ piece. Today there are over 2,000 identifiable variants of the game . Mathematically there are more possible games of chess than there are atoms in the Observable Universe.  It is possible to checkmate an opponent in chess in two moves .  The oldest living Grandmaster is Yuri Averbakh who celebrated his 100th birthday in May 2022.

The United Nations recognizes that sports , the arts and physical activity have the power to change perceptions, prejudices and behaviours , as well as to inspire people, break down racial and political barriers, combat discrimination and defuse conflict, and therefore contribute in promoting education, sustainable development, peace, cooperation, solidarity, social inclusion and health at the local, regional and international levels. Chess is one of the most ancient, intellectual and cultural games , with a combination of sport, scientific thinking and elements of art. As an affordable and inclusive activity, it can be exercised anywhere and played by all, across the barriers of language, age, gender, physical ability or social status. Chess is a global game , which promotes fairness, inclusion and mutual respect, and noting in this regard that it can contribute to an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding among peoples and nations. Chess also offers important opportunities in th...

Documentary showcasing how Chess game and a friend's notebook help Syrian boy cope with loss.

Chess, being a mind game, encourages deep logical thinking which enhances responsible action . Thus, promoting the playing of chess and linking this with issues of sex and sexuality could be a creative and strategic way of taking up the HIV/AIDS challenge.