Chess Under The Sky

 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

 

Latest news:

Dear friends, we would like to inform you that on 31.10.2024, the implementation of our project Chess Under TheSky (C.U.T.S.) was completed!

We will briefly summarize what we managed to do – we, partnered with youth organizations in a consortium of 3 countries, over the past 11 months:

Our credo is that chess is not just a game but also a competition requiring sporting spirit, specific skills, and sportsmanship.

The C.U.T.S. project’s objectives align with the horizontal policy priority: “Inclusion and diversity in all areas of education, training, youth and sport” with a focus on chess as a team sport. C.U.T.S. promotes awareness of the importance of inclusion through equal access to an intellectual sport such as chess and at the same time an entertaining game. Partners have developed, implemented, and shared fresh and inspiring applied models in 3 European countries – North Macedonia, Portugal, and Bulgaria, with the potential for wider international impact in the fields of sport, healthy lifestyles,  and youth upbringing.

In this context, C.U.T.S. is being considered in the following two aspects:

– Encouraging inclusion through the applying of attractive approaches in regular team activities in chess games outdoors (in nature, in the park, in the mountains, by the sea, in the city meadow, in the municipal garden…);

– With the help of modern mobile devices and apps, in case of certain obstacles (hard-to-reach areas, pandemics, quarantines, etc.), chess can be played digitally (this can also happen outdoors, for example in the yard of the house or in the garden in front of the block where we live).

In support of its main objective, C.U.T.S. offers an alternative approach to team chess that incorporates the joy of movement – outdoor chess workshops, outdoor competitive games, and outdoor and online tournaments.

 

Work performed and main achievements

The main goal of promoting inclusion and diversity in sport – outdoor and online team chess for young people with fewer opportunities is supported by specific objectives, which have been successfully achieved.

The main achievements are:

1) Created and shared innovative methodologies, didactic models, approaches, and practices for environmentally sustainable chess to promote outdoor chess as an inclusive sport for different generations and a gateway to a healthier and more active lifestyle;

2) Trained and encouraged current and future chess coaches with motivation and tools for training and for tournaments for young people with fewer opportunities through attractive and contemporary approaches for youth teams from different European countries;

3) Developed and shared tools – practical and reusable resources for sports associations, sports clubs, school and local teams and their coaches to engage youth with fewer opportunities in sport by promoting applied approaches and sustainable practices for team training, outdoor chess tournaments, and online chess network games;

4) At the national and local levels in the three countries, activities have been initiated to attract public attention to create a solid basis and prerequisites for continued and post-project follow-up dissemination of the results among a variety of NGOs, local authorities, and sports clubs in the countries of consortium (including the approbation of inclusive and environmentally sustainable chess models in other EU/third countries);

6) Successfully established network for cooperation and communication between the 4 participating organizations, allowing for fruitful cross-border cooperation, improved organizational practices, exchange of experiences, and a significant increase in potential, especially for those of them who are new participants in the Erasmus+ program.

 

The short-term results in summary form are:

– 3 youth outdoor chess teams formed in 3 European countries (young people with fewer opportunities attracted and involved);

– Trained and encouraged 6 current chess coaches with motivation and tools for young people with fewer opportunities through the attractive eco-friendly methodological toolkit

– chess workshops conducted in 3 European countries at the local level;

– successfully organized international summer chess games at the seaside with all three teams together;

– successful implementation of an international mountain chess tournament between the three teams with the selection of a team and individual winner;

-Successfully conducted an international online chess tournament by selecting an individual winner.

Within the project, we also focus on medium and long-term effects that will be useful for organizers of future sports training, sports events, and tournaments.

In the course of the project, a further idea was born that could exploit the synergistic effect of what has already been created but supported by the further development of a new mission, namely: some of the consortium partners to develop a special project for the practice of chess by visually impaired and blind youth from more countries.