The Marc Bloch High School in Bischheim (Bas-Rhin) is recruiting its future chess sports-study students on Wednesday, April 29. For the academic year 2026, the school will be among the first in France to offer such a academic program. The practice is becoming increasingly popular, especially among younger students.
This is just the beginning. Marc Bloch High School in Bischheim, Bas-Rhin, is preparing for its 2026 academic year like no other. In September, the school will inaugurate a chess sports-study section, one of the first in France.
With a few months left before the summer break, the focus is on concentration at the school on Wednesday, April 29. Teenagers are going through selections to join the new chess-dedicated section.
This new initiative builds on the existing chess section offered to middle school students in the town since 2023. According to the French Chess Federation (FFE), 1,500 children from preschool to middle school will have been trained in chess during the 2025-2026 school year in Bischheim. The future sports-study high school students will benefit from at least four hours of practice per week during their school time.
Competition is fierce for the teenage applicants to join this program. Only ten of them will be able to follow the new course.
Among the participants in the selections for the 2026 academic year, a teenage girl has made the trip. “I’m already part of the chess section at the middle school,” explains the young girl. She wants to continue her practice in order to participate in school championships. Further on, a young boy in a white t-shirt admits, “I recently started playing chess. I think it’s a good opportunity for me to progress further.”
For Eloi Relange, president of the FFE, the opening of sports-study sections in high schools is good news. “It contributes to raising the regional high level. So we are really focusing on training champions,” he explains. He continues, “when schools offer a chess sports section, it makes the entire school shine through this practice. All children are sensitized to chess, so more young people will probably join clubs, it’s a bit of an indirect effect. With sports-study programs, it’s even better because we are clearly at the regional high level. So we are really focusing on training champions.”
Creating a sports section dedicated to chess may come as a surprise, but chess has been recognized by the Ministry of Sports since 2001. “Today, it’s implementation, a practical demonstration showing that beyond institutional recognition, there is a desire and mobilization from clubs, principals, and teachers to create chess activities within schools,” assures Eloi Relange.
In April 2026, the FFE announced that they had registered 40,434 first-time licenses for a total of 86,843 members. This represents an increase of more than 13% compared to 2024. Over the past ten years, the number of licenses has almost doubled (+48.74%). According to the federation, the interest in the discipline has been boosted in recent years by online platforms, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the series “The Queen’s Gambit.” On social media, especially on Twitch and TikTok, content creators around chess are more numerous and also popularize the practice, especially among younger people.
“Chess is a sport that is growing rapidly in elementary and primary schools, and it continues in middle and high schools,” assures the FFE president. “Two thirds of the federation’s members are under 20 years old. It is truly a sport for young and very young people.” He adds, “for us, the federation, introducing chess into schools is a privileged access to club sports practice, recreational sports practice, and possibly competition.”
According to him, there has been significant growth in chess practice in France over the past ten years. Every month, 2 to 3 million people play chess, mainly online.
