Applied Chess: International Day and its Therapeutic Properties

On today, October 8th, the day that is celebrated for the first time globally as International Applied Chess Day, the topics of integration and the therapeutic properties of the ancient game are emerging as central. The year 2025 is declared the year of social chess, which reinforces the growing role of the game in the social sphere.

Reports from the National Press Club of BTA reveal details about the essence of this innovative approach. In 2017, the International Society for Applied Chess (ISAC) was founded in Pazardzhik, which initiated this movement. It was in this city that chess was first applied as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool, experts note.

During the press conference dedicated to the theme "October 8, 2025 - International Applied Chess Day. Chess for a better world", psychologist Nadezhda Kuzermanova emphasized the importance of the event. Experts from different countries are members of the International Society for Applied Chess, including Germany, Poland, Spain, and America.

"Chess structures thinking and slows down dementia, helping us with attention and memory retention. Chess helps with integration and rehabilitation", emphasizes Kuzermanova, who works at the Social Services Complex "Humanity" in Pazardzhik.

The activities of the International Society for Applied Chess are supported by the social commission of FIDE (International Chess Federation). On October 7, a memorandum of cooperation was signed in Pazardzhik with the social commission of FIDE, which is another step towards establishing this direction.

Kuzermanova reveals details from the practical work in Pazardzhik. "At the center where I work in Pazardzhik, we work with psychiatric patients in remission. We teach them life skills, after first training them in chess. We created the program "The World I Live In", with one of the modules teaching them where each of us is on the chessboard, how we interact, how active we are, etc."

Radislav Atanasov, president of the International Society for Applied Chess and chess teacher at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", adds that the game of chess can cultivate social skills, as "the game teaches how to walk in the shoes of the other, socialization happens in the form of rules. The game of chess is also good preparation for first grade. This happens in the form of learning rules and moving out of the world of magic into the world of reality, and this happens in the form of a game".

Dr. Prabitha Urweiler, advisor to the Social Chess Commission of FIDE, explained that FIDE has at least five social programs related to cancer patients, therapy after radiation treatment, the integration of prisoners, as well as with ethnic and social minorities. "Yesterday with the signed memorandum in Pazardzhik, we showed that chess does not belong only to the competitors, but to everyone who feels the need to practice the game of chess", said Dr. Urweiler. She emphasizes that chess is an instrument for realization and re-education, offering many other benefits.