Armenia is to make chess a compulsory subject in primary schools in an attempt to turn itself into a global force in the game, the education ministry said on Friday.
"Teaching chess in schools will create a solid basis for the country to become a chess superpower," an official at the ministry, Arman Aivazian, told AFP.
The authorities led by President Serzh Sarkisian, an enthusiastic supporter of the game, have committed around $1.5 million (one million euros) to the scheme — a large sum in the impoverished but chess-mad country.
Children from the age of six will learn chess as a separate subject on the curriculum for two hours a week.
Aivazian said the lessons which start later this year would "foster schoolchildren’s intellectual development" and teach them to "think flexibly and wisely".
via Yahoo! News – Armenia makes chess compulsory in schools. This seems like a cool idea, and I imagine would create students more skilled in critical thinking and logic, all good things.