FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich participated in the virtual event ©FIDE

International Chess Federation (FIDE) has held a virtual event with the United Nations as part of the governing body's celebrations for World Chess Day.

World Chess Day falls on July 20, following the UN General Assembly designating the day under agenda items "Sport for development and peace" and "Culture of peace" in 2019.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich was among the participants in the virtual meeting, entitled "Chess for Recovering Better", which lasted two hours.

The meeting was aimed at providing a platform for discussion around social cohesion, equality and inclusion.

Response and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic was the central focus of discussions.

The virtual meeting sought to discuss how chess can be used to help to support the efforts to achieve the goals.

The event also marked FIDE’s 96th anniversary.

FIDE President Dvorkovich said the organisation will work together with the UN to fulfil its aim of having chess added to the school curriculum in more countries.

Dvorkovich highlighted the benefits of chess, which he said could help to develop the logical skills of young people, that could then be useful for them in later life.

He also vowed to continue working with the UN to help to promote peace.


The FIDE said UN and Government officials were part of the event, as well as representatives of civil society and academia.

Five-time chess world champion Viswanathan Anand of India and former Russian chess star Vladimir Kramnik were among the speakers, along with Armenia’s Levon Aronian and China’s Hou Yifan.

"Throughout history, games and sports have helped humanity to survive times of crisis by reducing anxieties and improving mental health," the FIDE said.

"While the coronavirus outbreak has forced most gaming and sports activities to scale down, chess has demonstrated remarkable resilience, adaptability, and very strong convening power in the time of the pandemic.

"Over the past few months, the overall interest in chess is reported to have doubled, with more players than ever coming together to participate in chess events that are being increasingly held through online platforms."

The virtual meeting was broadcast on the FIDE YouTube channel and was shown live by the UN.