Chess to become compulsory in Spanish schools

THE sight of children pondering where to move their rooks, pawns and bishops will soon be more common than ever.

Chess is already a popular pastime in Spain, and the country’s education board has decided to work it into the curriculum.

In an effort to boost pupils’ maths and reading marks, an hour of chess a week is being introduced into most Spanish primary schools from the turn of the year.

Education studies in Madrid suggest that just that one hour can improve pupil’s maths performance by 30%.