Armenia has much to teach America – The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Republic of Armenia may not be a superpower, but it has much to teach America when it comes to education, the Philadelphia Inquirer says in an article referring to Armenian government's recent move to make chess a mandatory subject in primary school.

"The former Soviet republic last month made chess a mandatory school subject for children over 6, citing the benefits of chess in fostering strategic thinking. It's a great gambit by a nation angling to become a superpower in the chess world," says the author of the article.

Speaking to the paper, world-famous Armenian grand-master Garry Kasparov highly praised the initiative saying that he now works on a similar initiative in Georgia.

He said he believes chess can fundamentally alter and improve student performance in every area, including reading and writing, math, even art.

"Chess is simple enough to learn quickly, complex enough to reward concentration, and uses a very broad skill set - creativity, calculation, visualization, research," Kasparov said in an e-mail from his home in Moscow. "There are now ample studies showing across the board improvement in classrooms where chess is taught."