On May 13, 2026, the East Kazakhstan Regional Scientific and Methodological Center for Informatization and Educational Development "Örken", in collaboration with the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, held a national conference on the topic "Chess in Education: Implementation in Primary Grades" at the S. Lastayev Secondary School in the Katon-Karagai district.

The main goal was to discuss the interim results of implementing chess into the school curriculum and to consider methods for developing students':
– critical thinking;
– logical abilities;
– emotional intelligence.

The key feature of the conference was its focus on practice and real-world experience. The event was attended by methodologists from district and city education departments, school principals, deputy principals for primary grades, and primary school teachers. Primary school teachers showed particular activity: they shared their experiences, asked questions, and discussed ways to integrate chess into the educational process.

In addition:

• programs for teacher training and retraining were presented;
• the impact of chess on STEM disciplines was discussed at a scientific level.

This conference became a platform focused more on concrete practice than on theory and demonstrated effective ways to integrate chess into the education system.
Following the conference, participants expressed their readiness to implement the "Basics of Chess" program in their schools.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/vko-bilim/press/news/details/1219556?lang=kk