Chess Gains Importance in the AI Era

Former FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich thanked the Armenian chess community, particularly Smbat Lputian and his team, for their contribution to the development of chess in schools at the international conference “Theory and Practice of Chess Education”, held in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia.

“I am very grateful to Smbat and his team for educational chess, chess in schools, and for everything that the Chess Federation of Armenia and the Armenian chess community have done for the development of chess around the world. You are a leading force and the foundation on which we can build our great vision for the development of chess education,” Dvorkovich said.

Dvorkovich noted that 2026 is the FIDE Year of Chess in Education. He said the decision is not merely symbolic, but is accompanied by projects, initiatives, sporting and educational events, research and conferences.

The former FIDE president noted that although many countries have not yet formally integrated educational chess into their education systems, progress is being made every year. More and more governments are adopting programmes to introduce chess into education systems.

“Chess develops skills that are important for our lives and for the lives of people around the world, regardless of what profession they choose or what path they take in life,” Dvorkovich said.

He particularly highlighted the growing importance of these skills in a world shaped by advanced technologies and artificial intelligence.

“We have to understand that it is still the individual who makes the final decision. The individual makes this decision while being pressured and sometimes guided by the information and knowledge coming from artificial intelligence. But in this world, every individual is responsible for their own decision,” Dvorkovich stressed.

He presented chess as an environment in which the player directly bears responsibility for a decision and its consequences.

Expanding the Community of Teachers

Dvorkovich praised the work of people who invest their time and effort in developing chess in schools, regardless of whether they work in government, research institutions, schools, universities or chess federations.

He placed particular emphasis on teacher and instructor training, stressing that the development of chess requires not only specialists who know the game, but also a broad community of teachers capable of passing that knowledge on to children.

Dvorkovich also spoke about his own family experience. He said he has three sons, one of whom is 11 and still at school. The boy enjoys playing chess and sometimes even organises tournaments himself.

“I like the fact that even children of this age understand that it is fun and can create some value,” he said.