A Russian senator is asking the Education and Science Ministry to make chess a mandatory subject in high schools across the country, according to the newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
Senator Vadim Tyulpanov says chess lessons could replace one of the required physical education classes now in place, arguing that adding chess to Russia’s school curriculum would also allow disabled students to participate in sporting activities.
Chess lessons are mandatory in several school systems throughout the world, including curriculums in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Spain, and Mexico. Since the beginning of the year, elementary schools in Russia’s Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug have taught students how to play chess.
For more on chess in Russia, see: Chess Star Karyakin Defends Support for Russian Crimea
