Latin America is betting on chess for the long term

Latin America’s Long-Term Chess Strategy

Sometimes the most important victories in chess do not begin at the board. Not with a brilliant tactical strike, not with a sensation at a supertournament, and not with the arrival of a new prodigy. Sometimes the real bet is placed much more quietly — through schools, ministries, laws, teacher-training programs, and slow, almost invisible work planned years ahead. That is exactly the strategy Latin America is now choosing more and more clearly. FIDE openly writes that the region is trying to do something different in chess: not build a quick effect, but create a long-term system of growth through education and public policy.

At first glance, such an approach may seem too calm for a world that is used to measuring success by medals, ratings, and loud titles. But that is precisely the essence of the long game. Instead of spending resources only on elite tournaments and short bursts of attention, countries in the region are increasingly treating chess as a tool for developing thinking, improving the school environment, engaging children, and supporting social policy. That is why FIDE placed such special emphasis on Latin America in March 2026, when several publications at once were devoted to how the region is turning chess into part of its educational strategy.

Why This Is Called a Long-Term Game

Because this is not about a one-time project or a showcase initiative designed for reports. In FIDE’s article about the region’s “long game,” the core message is made very clear: Latin America is betting on embedding chess more deeply into society rather than simply producing a short-term effect. The logic is simple: if chess becomes part of the educational and social fabric, over time this increases the number of players, raises the level of competition, and ultimately produces new strong chess players. This is no longer tournament tactics, but strategic thinking planned for years ahead.

That is why not only federations but also government institutions are at the center of attention. When chess begins to be discussed with ministries of education, sports, and other public bodies, the game itself gains a different status. It stops being just a pastime for motivated children and becomes a tool that the state can use in school and social policy. In FIDE’s materials, this line runs very consistently: chess is being proposed as part of education, not as an extracurricular activity somewhere on the margins of school life.

Costa Rica as a Key Example of the New Strategy

If this long-term direction has one especially vivid example today, it is Costa Rica. FIDE emphasizes that it is no surprise this country was the first to sign such important documents, because back in 2022 Law No. 10187 was passed there, declaring the promotion of chess teaching in the education system a matter of public interest. The law also created a legal basis for cooperation with the national federation. This is a very important point: without a law and political backing, even a good idea often remains only an idea.

The next step then followed — the transition from declaration to institutional work. According to FIDE, Costa Rica began building cooperation among the Ministry of Public Education, the Ministry of Sports, and the national chess federation. And in March 2026, San José hosted the Chess and Education Summit, which became not just a conference, but a platform for launching a practical model: a national pilot program introducing classroom-based chess in ten public schools. The program is being developed jointly by FIDE, the Confederation of Chess for America, the Costa Rican Chess Federation, and the Ministry of Public Education.

Why Schools Became the Main Battleground

Because that is where the future of chess is decided, not only its present. In FIDE’s article about the region’s leading role in education policy, it is stated that the pilot in Costa Rica is built around three principles: inclusiveness, student well-being, and ease of implementation for teachers. That is very revealing. The region is not trying to sell chess only as a tool for future champions. On the contrary, the bet is that the game can be useful to a broad range of children — as a way to develop attention, self-control, logic, and a more stable learning environment.

Dana Reizniece, Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board, put this idea even more sharply at the summit in San José: chess should be viewed as part of education policy, not as an extracurricular activity. That is, in essence, the formula of the entire Latin American strategy. While in other places chess often remains a club for those who are interested, here the discussion is increasingly about how to integrate it into the normal functioning of schools and turn it into a meaningful pedagogical tool for the state.

What Is Driving This Process

FIDE has a direct answer to that question as well. In its publication on Latin America’s “long game,” the drivers of change include policymakers willing to listen, federation leaders capable of building partnerships, and a shared understanding that chess can work more broadly than as a purely sporting result. FIDE also notes that in 2024 federation representatives visited countries in the region, including Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, and Costa Rica, to discuss possible national and regional programs with ministers and education authorities. In other words, this is not a local burst, but a developing network of cooperation.

The broader calendar context also matters. FIDE declared 2026 the Year of Chess in Education, while earlier 2025 had been named the Year of Social Chess. This gives Latin America a convenient window of opportunity: the region’s ideas align well with the federation’s global agenda. That is why Latin America has ended up not on the periphery of the international conversation, but effectively at its center — as a region where these ideas are already taking institutional form.

Why This Is Stronger Than Simply Hosting Major Tournaments

Because tournaments create a flash, but a system creates a generation. That is perhaps the central meaning of the whole story. An elite event attracts attention for a few days or weeks. But if chess enters the daily lives of thousands of children through schools, teacher training, and state support, the effect can be far deeper. That is exactly the logic FIDE describes in its article about the “long game”: the deeper chess enters society, the broader the player base, the stronger the competition, and the more solid the future of the sport itself becomes. This is already a direct strategic conclusion from the federation’s official position.

In addition, this path is relatively economical. Chess does not require expensive infrastructure, and it is easier to integrate into the existing school environment than many other sports or educational programs. For countries that want broad reach with limited resources, this matters especially. In its materials on Costa Rica, FIDE explicitly stresses the need for simple implementation for teachers and for a sustainable model that can be monitored, evaluated, and then scaled up to the national level.

What Risks This Strategy Carries

Of course, the idea alone does not guarantee success. Even FIDE presents the current steps with caution: pilot programs must be monitored and evaluated first, and only then can expansion be considered. That means the region is well aware of the real challenges of any educational reform — the shortage of trained teachers, the burden on school systems, and the difference between a good local project and scaling it across an entire country. That is exactly why the current approach looks mature: first the law and the agreements, then the pilot, then the evaluation, and only after that the expansion.

There is another risk as well: if chess is treated only as a beautiful theme for public speeches, without real support for teachers and schools, everything could burn out quickly. But that is precisely where the strength of the current Latin American movement lies. It is trying to move away from romantic rhetoric and speak instead in the language of manageable models, state partnerships, and clear tasks for the education system. This is especially visible in the way FIDE and its representatives frame the subject: not “let’s promote chess in general,” but “let’s integrate it into education policy in a way that actually works.”

Conclusion

Latin America’s long-term chess strategy is not about one tournament, one country, or a beautiful campaign lasting a few months. It is about an attempt to play a big positional game: through laws, schools, teachers, ministries, and the gradual transformation of chess into part of public infrastructure. FIDE clearly sees this region as one of the most interesting examples of how the game can move beyond sport and become an element of education policy.

And if this strategy works, Latin America may go down in history not only as a region of bright talents and emotional tournaments. It may become the place where chess truly learned to think ten moves ahead — not on the board, but in the structure of society itself.