On July 20th, FIDE celebrated its 100th anniversary, a date also recognized by the UN as International Chess Day since December 12, 2019.

July 20: International Chess Day

The first time July 20 became a significant date for the chess community was in 1924, with the founding of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE). At that time, FIDE did not yet organize world championships, taking a few more years to reach agreements with the dominant chess figures of the era.

It took 46 years for this date to gain a new level of importance. Starting in 1966, at FIDE’s initiative, the celebration of International Chess Day began with the specific goal of commemorating the organization’s founding. Since then, chess players worldwide have gathered to celebrate.

Fifty-three years later, on December 12, 2019, during the 74th plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly, International Chess Day was officially recognized. Including this year’s celebration, there have been five years of annual official global festivities.

Was It FIDE or UNESCO? Did you know there is confusion about whether it was FIDE or UNESCO that proposed celebrating International Chess Day at the UN? Some sources even claim UNESCO suggested the celebration in 1966. This confusion is fueled by poorly written reports from various official FIDE sources and digital media. Discrepancies can be found when comparing different versions on the same topic, such as those from the English Chess Federation , FIDE’s Facebook channel , or news from FIDE’s official site . The information we present here is based on official sources and documents.

How Was International Chess Day Approved at the UN?

In New York, on Thursday, December 12, 2019, during the 74th session, at the 45th plenary meeting of the UN, the permanent representative of Armenia, Mher Margaryan, presented a draft resolution to designate July 20 as World Chess Day. This draft echoed the goal established in 1966: to remember FIDE’s founding on a similar day.

It’s noteworthy that Armenia proposed this resolution, as the country has made chess education official in schools and has presented outstanding national teams at the Chess Olympiad.

The session, starting at 10:05 AM, was chaired by Vice-President Pennelope Althea Beckles of Trinidad and Tobago, in the absence of the session’s president, Nigeria’s representative, Muhammad-Bande.

The draft resolution was part of the 11th agenda item titled “Sport for Development and Peace: Building a Peaceful and Better World Through Sport and the Olympic Ideal” and the 15th agenda item titled “Culture of Peace.” Initially, 22 countries joined Armenia as co-sponsors and drafters of the resolution. Subsequently, another 30 countries joined, totaling 53 supporters.

The draft emphasized chess as a part of modern life that combines “sport, scientific thinking, and art,” whose “transformative power helps transcend national boundaries, break social, political, and racial barriers.” It highlighted the opportunities chess could represent for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, such as strengthening education and health, promoting women’s and girls’ empowerment, and fostering solidarity, cooperation, and peace. While chess is often seen as a battlefield game, it is now considered a game linked to peace, and the board has often been associated with diplomacy and multilateralism.

After the presentation of the draft, on December 12, 2019, the resolution was adopted by consensus in the UN General Assembly. All UN member states accepted the draft without a vote. If even one member had requested a vote for adoption, there would have been no consensus, which is the most basic form of agreement among member states. This means that the approval of World Chess Day received the unanimous approval of the international community.

UN Reasons for Approving World Chess Day

The General Assembly outlined several reasons in the adopted resolution document for officializing World Chess Day, related to commitments made in various charters, declarations, and official documents. These include the United Nations Charter , the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the UNESCO Constitution , the political declaration approved at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit , the Convention on the Rights of the Child , the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities , and other General Assembly resolutions regarding the proclamation of international years.

Based on these documents, it is expected that chess, as a game related to thinking, culture, and sport, will be one of the means chosen by nations to achieve “objectives of international peace and of the common welfare of humankind,” recognizing that “a peace based exclusively upon the political and economic arrangements of governments would not be a peace which could secure the unanimous, lasting and sincere support of the peoples of the world.” Instead, peace must be based on “the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind.” Furthermore, sport and art help “change perceptions, prejudices, and behaviors, as well as to inspire people, break down racial and political barriers,” contributing to the promotion of “education, sustainable development, peace, cooperation, solidarity, social inclusion, and health at the local, regional, and international levels.”

These documents also mention specific commitments that chess would promote, such as promoting children’s physical, mental, and emotional health through play and sports, ensuring “the right of persons with disabilities to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life, recreation, leisure, and sport,” and “to promote the advancement of women and girls in chess activities.”

Other reasons recognize chess as inclusive, worldwide, low-cost, long-standing, and intellectual and cultural in nature, “with a combination of sport, scientific thinking and elements of art.” It also considers the partnerships numerous United Nations system organizations have established with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which aims to put sport at the service of humanity and promote a peaceful society and healthy lifestyles. The IOC has recognized FIDE as an International Sports Federation. Finally, the resolution acknowledges the opportunities chess offers for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Why Is the UN’s Approval of International Chess Day Valuable?

Now that we know the history of approving International Chess Day and understand the reasons outlined by the General Assembly in the final document, we might ask: what is the point of the UN approving the global celebration of this day if it was already recognized and celebrated by FIDE and, according to some reports , in 178 countries?

In general, international days serve to raise awareness about the day’s theme. The involved actors can include United Nations organizations and offices, governments, civil society, the public and private sectors, schools, and citizens. Based on the concerns highlighted in the final approved document, we have seen which issues are most important to member states, and these can be taken as the main topics for International Chess Day.

Another benefit is that “the UN takes advantage of these Days to advise States on actions to tackle the serious problems around which many of these dates revolve”.

The UN General Assembly has requested UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) to facilitate celebrating World Chess Day in collaboration with other competent organizations. The costs of celebration activities come from voluntary contributions.

In other words, International Chess Day has a dual purpose. Considering that FIDE has its own goals, such as promoting chess worldwide and establishing chess education in each country, this celebration also serves as a springboard for other actors to mobilize and promote chess, thereby increasing the number of people interested in the game. On the other hand, it helps the UN and its agencies continue with their global agenda goals, including the most pressing and important ones, such as the 2030 Agenda.

For further reading, we recommend the following official documents:

• Resolution A/RES/74/22

• On UN International Days

• Draft resolution presented at the UN General Assembly, A/74/PV.45