Chairman

Jerry believes in the power of chess to enable student success - both in and beyond the classroom. His focus has always been to give teachers the tool in chess they did not know they needed. His 30+ years of experience as a classroom teacher and leader of professional development for educators have provided ample evidence of the benefits of the game and the multiple curriculum connections. Teachers who use chess in the classroom consistently report changed relationships with students and significant improvement in student behavior and decision-making. A featured speaker at education and chess in education conferences globally, Jerry hopes to make chess as an educational tool a viable strategy and a regular topic of conversation within the education community.

Senior Adviser

Leontxo is the Senior Adviser of our commission. He has been working as a chess lecturer, journalist, writer, presenter and commentator since 1983. Expert on chess as an educational tool, he has trained more than 30, 000 teachers in 31 countries. His book Ajedrez y Ciencia, pasiones mezcladas (2013) is on its seventh edition. He produces a daily chess column, videos, a newsletter, a podcast and many stories for El Pais that has over 60 million readers. He worked for different radio shows and presented more than 100 TV programmes since 1986. He produced, with Garry Kasparov, the series La Pasión del Ajedrez (The Passion for Chess; 1998-1999). Leontxo ran Jaque magazine (1991-2001). Leontxo has much experience on live commentary from the top tournament venues. He has been awarded with the Medal of Merit by the Spanish Government, by the Judit Polgar Foundation as “Ambassador of Chess”, and the European Chess Union as “the best chess journalist”, and included in the FIDE’s Golden Book “in appreciation of his excellent contributions to develop of chess in the world”. He was a curator of the Spanish Pavilion at the Expo Dubai in 2021.

Secretary

Rita holds a degree in Mathematics and Physics as well as a Diploma of Education from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, and an MSc in Computing Science from Imperial College, London. She has spent over ten years as a teacher of mathematics and physics in the UK and in Ireland. Rita is a Women International Master of chess. She set up and ran many school chess clubs in and around Cambridge, where she used her experience in competitive chess to coach her students about the mysteries of the royal game. Rita strongly believes that chess is a great educational tool, and she is a frequent speaker at chess educational conferences. She is the co-creator of LogiqBoard, the online shareable chessboard suitable for classroom use. Her dream is to bring chess to every school in the world.

Councillor

Luxman is a science graduate from the University of Colombo, and he is currently working at the University of Moratuwa, one of the leading Universities in Sri Lanka. Luxman has played in eight Chess Olympiads, and he was National Champion in Sri Lanka in 1996 and 2000. He is also an International Arbiter & FIDE Instructor. He has worked as Arbiter in various Grand Prix and World Cup events and Chess Olympiads. Luxman is the president of the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka. In his role he has promoted chess tirelessly: currently Sri Lanka is third in Asia in terms of number of registered players as well as licensed arbiters and trainers.

Councillor

Dijana is the Head of the Chess Program in Overseas Family School in Singapore. At OFS chess is a compulsory element of the curriculum in kindergarten (K2) and Elementary School and is part of the overall Intellectual Development Program. She is also co-founder of the Munich (Germany) Chess Academy as well as the Munich Chess Foundation and has been an active player in twelve Chess Olympiads.

Councillor

Mothokomedi was born and raised in Tonota village, in Botswana, Southern Africa. He has earned his degree, Bachelor of Education in Science from the University of Botswana in 2006. He joined the teaching profession as a mathematics teacher in a government high school in the same year. Mothokomedi has introduced chess in numerous primary schools in his province. In 2009, together with other local teachers he formed a Schools Chess Committee, which was in charge of running school tournaments and other events related to school chess development. He was elected Vice Chairman of this committee, and in this role he helped grow chess in schools. In 2013 Mothokomedi was elected Development Director of Botswana Chess Federation, and in 2017 he was elevated to the position of President and served there until 2021. Mothokomedi also serves as Chairperson of Chess in Education for Africa.

Councillor

Esteban is a chess teacher, lecturer and columnist. He coordinates the projects “Udelar Chess” at the Central Service for Inclusion and Well-being (SCIBU) of the University of the Republic (UDELAR) and “Chess for Coexistence” of the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) in Uruguay. Esteban is co-author of the books Learn with chess (Santillana, 2020), Encounters around the board (Universidad de la República, Uruguay, 2020) and Chess, art and culture (Universidad de la República, Uruguay, in preparation), as well as the video game Legendary Chess (Plan Ceibal, 2011). Esteban has given courses and conferences in Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain, Turkey and Norway. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Uruguayan Chess Federation (FUA).

Member

Hanif has been the President of the Chess Association of Punjab, a province in Pakistan with a population of 130 million since 2018. He is an avid chess player, a National Master, who represented Pakistan at the 1989 Novi Sad Chess Olympiad. Hanif has organized and sponsored over a hundred chess events in Pakistan. He also served as the chairman of several organizing committees. Hanif believes that Chess in Education could be a success story in Pakistan if implemented with the full help and support of stakeholders and organisations. He is delighted to have the opportunity to learn from different modules and models of CIE from all around the world. Hanif is currently working as the Chairman of the board at NH Group of Companies Pakistan.

Member

Charles has a Bachelor's degree and a License in Physical Education, and he also graduated in Pedagogy and obtained the title of Master in Educational Sciences. Charles is a consultant in Higher Education at the Ministry of Education in Brazil. He has been a professor at various universities for the last 25 years. He is the author of numerous articles and books in the educational field. Charles is the organizing member of the Youth School Games, a chess modality of the Brazilian Olympic Committee. He was vice president of the Brazilian Chess Confederation from 2009 to 2020. In 2008, he created and managed the “Chess that Gives Freedom” project, which in 2012 won the “Spirit of Sports” award, an International Sports Award for Best Social Project by SportAccord, competing with projects from FIFA, IOC and other major sporting organizations.

Member

Member

Boris has been a chess coach and a schoolteacher for 33 years in Hamburg, Germany. He has been running training courses for teachers and trainers since 2001. This is Boris' second term in the FIDE EDU commission. His main responsibilities are running the commissions social media platforms, developing frameworks for school and course certification, and reviewing training courses.

Member

Abhijit loves to travel and meet people. He believes in learning and prosperity for all through collaboration. Abhijit holds a Masters degree in Management Science from Pune University, India. Abhijit is India’s 4th Grandmaster, winner of ‘Dhyanchand Award” National Sports award for Achievement in Sports awarded by the government of India. In 2021 he was nonplaying Captain and Coach of Bronze medal Winning Indian Women Team at Chess Olympiad 2022. Abhijit is two-times National Chess Champion, British Chess Champion in 2003, and also Member of the Indian Team in four Chess Olympiads and three World Cups. Abhijit works for IndianOil Corporation as Chief Manager of Sports.

Member

Tamara is an educational psychologist, and a lecturer of educational chess courses. She has recently been appointed Head of General Education Department in Armenia, in which role she is responsible for state policy in public education including pre-school and school education. Tamara is the head of the Armenian Chess Federation's Commission for Chess in Education. The commission’s goal is to further expand educational chess to all ages of instruction. Tamara has a growing number of publications and conference presentations, and her research focuses on how chess as a pedagogical tool impacts teachers and children. She holds an MSc in Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Member

Member

Adriana holds a degree in Linguistics and Literature. Her particular interests are teaching for understanding, thinking cultures, and cognitive modifiability. Adriana is Woman International Master, nine times Colombian Champion, and Champion of Central America and the Caribbean. She has played at six Chess Olympiads. Adriana is the author of the book “Juega el maestro y ganan los niños” (The Master plays and the Children Win). She has created the method “Ajedrez en el aula” (Chess in the Classroom), which includes 8 booklets for students, guides for teachers as well as multiple pedagogical resources. Adriana is currently a kindergarten Director in Bogotá- Colombia.

Member

Ilker is interested in chess as a hobby. He came 3rd in the under 1700 category of the European Amateur Chess Championship in 2022 in Zagreb. In the past, Ilker gave motivational seminars in the Turkish National Youth Chess Team’s Camps titled “Chess and Business Life” and worked as the translator for GM Alexander Beliavsky. He is regularly writing a column titled “Right Move” in the official journal of the Turkish Chess Federation Mavi Kale, and also has a column called “Leaders of Strategy” in Fikir Liderleri, a leading pharma journal of Turkey, in which he compares and contrasts chess with business life. Ilker is currently working for a pharmaceutical company as a marketing manager.

Member

Nina has been part of chess in education community since 2018. This is when she started working with the Chess in School project lead jointly by the Chess Federation of Russia and the Timchenko Foundation. Since 2014 the project has spread to 18 regions of Russia with more than 406 000 children in more than 4000 schools taking part in chess activities. She aims to give every child a chance to learn more about themselves through the wonderful game of chess.

Member

Uvencio has a PhD in Physical Culture and Sports Sciences from the “Manuel Fajardo” University of Havana. He is a Professor of Biology and General Science at the Pedagogical Institute of Caracas, where he runs postgraduate courses in Instructional Systems Design (UPEL) and Pedagogy (Santa Maria University). Uvencio's chess accolades are many: FIDE International Chess Arbiter, secretary of the Chess in Schools Commission (CIS), former vice-president of the Ibero-American Chess Federation (FIDA), former president of the Venezuelan Chess Federation (FVA), general secretary of the “American Chess Hall of Fame” foundation and the “Mexican Chess Hall of Fame”. He is the creator of the “Chess Instructional System” methodology for teaching chess in schools (Paris 1995). Uvencio is a distinguished writer with 16 published works on chess, sports, doping and non-fiction; lecturer and researcher with more than 750 academic citations.

Member

Ali is the President of the Syrian Chess Federation. He is also the Vice President for Asia in the Mediterranean Chess Association. Ali is currently writing a book for children aged 3-6 about playing chess on a giant floorboard measuring 8 by 8 meters.

Member

Bartek's focus is chess in university education, and he is the leader of the commission's University Workgroup. Bartek is a Chess Grandmaster, a European Champion of 2002, and the winner of over thirty international tournaments. He holds the titles of FIDE Senior Trainer, FIDE Arbiter, and International Organizer. He put his numerous qualifications to the test by becoming the chief organizer of the World University Blitz and Rapid Championships. Bartek works at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he is Head Coach. He also lectures on the Mathematics of Chess there.

Member

Andrea has been instrumentally involved with the administrative development of chess for several years at various levels. She has served as secretary for the Barbados Chess Federation, and now she is the General Secretary and FIDE Delegate of the Bermuda Chess Federation. In Bermuda she was able to transform the chess landscape, by assisting with the creation of greater participation at all levels. With the structure that created under the guidance of Andrea, chess in Bermuda started to be recognized and schools begun to reach out to obtain assistance with coaching, meetings were held with Government representatives to create awareness about chess and most of all membership numbers started to increase. Andrea believes that Chess in Education is a win-win for all: we can produce a society of thinkers and in the process heal some of our social ills.

Member

Anzel is a practising Advocate of the High Court in South Africa; she is a legal advisor, and she is involved in various sport dispute resolution commissions. Anzel has many chess accolades: Woman International Master, National Team member of South Africa since 1998, Master Coach and National Coach Education Advisor, Qualified Mediator, and Chess Education Lecturer. Anzel has sixteen years lecturing experience and curriculum development at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. She was in charge of curriculum development of the Coaching Children Course and training of coaches from 11 different codes for the South African Sport Confederation and Olympic Committee. Anzel is best described as dynamic, energetic, and passionate. She is equally comfortable standing in court fighting for justice, empowering a group of educators, or sitting at a chessboard teaching children the magical game of chess.

Member

Kamila is deeply fascinated with promoting chess as an educational tool, strongly believing in its ability to enhance critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategic planning skills in students. She conducts training for teachers, advocating chess as an excellent tool for strengthening mathematical education in early schooling. She organizes chess events (including the European Pair Chess Championship as part of the European Games Krakow-Małopolska 2023). Kamila is a chess teacher, organizer of recreational chess camps, a chess arbiter, and she is president of the Małopolski Chess Association (Krakow/Poland) since 2019. Her chess motto is “We develop minds, move by move.”

Member

Thomas has a Master's in International and Development Economics from HTW Berlin University of Applied Sciences. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Liberia. He has worked with Non-Governmental Organizations, media institutions, civil society organizations, a government institution and the UN peacekeeping mission in his home country (Liberia). Thomas is interested in development economics, international trade, development/trade policies, public finance, public information, multimedia, social media and technology. He is currently the Director of University Relations at the University of Liberia and the President of the Liberia Chess Federation.