Chess School

Roman Hrytsai is a physical education teacher at Pidvolochysk Lyceum in the Ternopil region of Ukraine. Alongside his primary subject, he initiated the creation of a school chess program to support students’ intellectual development and emotional resilience.

Through a SEED mini-grant, the lyceum received chess sets and an electronic chess clocks for training sessions and tournaments that made it possible to organize regular training sessions, internal school tournaments, and structured preparation for competitions. This provided students with consistent access to chess practice and the opportunity to develop strategic thinking, concentration, and decision-making skills.

As a result, students from the lyceum successfully participated in the national school leagues “Plich-o-Plich”, earning prize placements and demonstrating strong performance. The project supported 20–30 students and showed how access to appropriate learning tools, combined with teacher initiative, can translate into measurable educational outcomes.