FIDE EDU Courses for Instructors: October – December 2026

FIDE Announces Chess Teacher Training Courses for October–December 2026

Teaching a child how a knight moves takes only a few minutes. Planning a lesson that encourages them to think, feel comfortable making mistakes, and want to return to the board is much harder. That is where teaching begins: choosing an accessible task, asking the right question, and helping a student discover the answer for themselves.

On October 19, the FIDE Chess in Education Commission (EDU) announced its course programme for October–December 2026. The calendar includes online and in-person training for teachers, as well as a course for educators who want to train other teachers.

Two Pathways: Teaching Children and Training Teachers

FIDE’s educational programmes offer two main pathways.

Preparation of Teachers (PoT) trains teachers to use chess as an educational tool. The standard course comprises 15 hours over three days. Participants explore teaching methods, digital tools, and practical classroom approaches. The programme provides a pathway towards the FIDE School Instructor (SI) title.

Preparation of Lecturers (PoL) is primarily intended for educators who want to train teachers themselves. This pathway includes the Lead School Instructor (LSI) and Senior Lead Instructor (SLI) qualifications.

For school chess, this distinction serves a practical purpose. One teacher needs techniques for everyday classroom work. Another needs to explain those techniques to colleagues, review their lessons, and help them develop their own teaching programmes.

Course Schedule Through the End of the Year

The announcement lists five events:

Registration links for each event are available in FIDE’s official announcement.

Before choosing a programme, check the teaching language, session times, and participation requirements. For online courses, it is especially important to convert the schedule to your local time zone: being able to join from home does not necessarily mean the sessions will fit around your working day.

Why Knowing Chess Is Not Enough

Imagine a typical lesson: one child can already deliver checkmate with two rooks, another is still unsure which way pawns move, and a third gets upset whenever they lose a piece. The same explanation is unlikely to help all three.

A teacher has to manage several tasks at once: maintain attention, accommodate different learning speeds, and give each student something achievable to work on. At the same time, students need room to explore ideas independently.

After a poor move, for example, a teacher could immediately show the correct answer. Alternatively, they could ask the child to check which pieces are under attack and discover the mistake themselves. In the second approach, the discussion becomes part of the learning process.

The value of teacher training emerges in these everyday decisions. Knowing combinations helps a teacher choose material; knowing how to teach makes that material accessible and useful to an individual student.

What Resources Are Available to Graduates?

The EDU announcement lists additional benefits for successful PoT graduates who hold the SI title. These include six months of ChessKid Premium access for participants and their students, subscriptions to Notationary and Chesslang, lifetime access to Opening Master Premium databases, Chesspertise tools, and teaching manuals. Participants should confirm the terms of these offers with the organisers.

These resources can make lesson preparation easier by helping teachers find positions, select exercises, or organise independent practice. Choosing the right tasks, however, remains the teacher’s responsibility. Even an extensive collection of materials is useful only when there is a clear understanding of what a particular exercise should teach.

Where a Good Chess Lesson Begins

Before registering, consider your goal. Do you need a foundation for running a school chess club? Would you like to rethink your existing lessons? Or are you ready to share your experience and train other teachers?

Your answer will help you choose a pathway and prepare questions for the organisers. Further programme details are available on the EDU Commission’s website.

A good chess lesson begins before the first move—with an understanding of what the student is about to discover. Today, that might be how a knight moves. Tomorrow, it might be the ability to pause and check a decision. The teacher’s task is to guide that journey so that curiosity becomes stronger than the fear of making a mistake.