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INFINITE CHESS PROJECT

FIDE’s INFINITE CHESS Project aims to increase knowledge and awareness of chess for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), give practical advice to teachers and parents, study the benefits of introducing to chess and develop various teaching methods. Project Leader – Anastasia Sorokina.

The project is run in cooperation with FIDE Social Commission.

  • In 2019, the Infinite Chess Project started with the experience of Belarus , when the Belarus Chess Federation launched 4 pilot groups of 4 people each.
  • In January 2021 a pilot project was launched in 6 countries: Spain, Turkey, France, Gibraltar, South Africa and Norway.
  • In Spring 2021 an introductory FIDE seminar had taken place, attracting 130 participants from more than 50 countries.
  • On October 2-3, 2021, FIDE has organized the 2nd FIDE Educational Seminar “Chess for children with an autism spectrum disorder. Learn and teach”. It was an inter-commission effort, put in by the FIDE Chess in Education Commission, Commission for the Disabled and FIDE Social Commission. The main goal of this two-day seminar was to provide core knowledge and practical advice for teachers, trainers, and parents who wish to teach chess to kids with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
  • Currently, the project is already running in 12 countries – Albania, Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Latvia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Morocco, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, and Turkey – and involves 130 children with ASD. Three new partners – New Zealand, Maldives and India – have joined the project in October 2023.
  • In November 2023, the 4th FIDE Educational Seminar of Infinite Chess Project, “Chess for children with an autism spectrum disorder. Learn and teach”, will be held. It aims to provide core knowledge and practical advice to teachers, trainers, and parents who wish to teach chess to kids with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.  
  • The list of activities planned for this year also includes the Social Project Conference in Paris, France (December 06-09, 2023) and the educational seminar for teachers in Dubai, UAE, in cooperation with the FIDE Trainers’ Commission and the Asian Chess Federation (December 18 2023).
 

Having the support of the International Olympic Committee, the first educational program was launched: “Methodological guide for teachers to conduct chess classes when working with children with autism spectrum disorder”. In the meantime, an Erasmus funding application was submitted in order to carry out a large research.

The “Infinite Chess” training program for teaching chess to children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is available in several languages — English, French, Spanish, and Russian. Recently, it has been translated into Arabic language and published on the project’s website.