PhD, Associate Professor I.V. Mikhailova¹
PhD, Associate Professor M.A. Petrova¹
PhD, Associate Professor E.D. Bakulina^1
1Russian State Social University, Moscow

Keywords: chess sport, digital transformations, artificial intelligence (AI), digitalization, сhess training system, information and communication technologies, computerized learning.

Background. Modern сhess training system may be defined as the complex multisided service determined by the sport positioning, national traditions and national and global progress trends. Presidential Decree "On the national progress goals of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030" mentions digital transformations in the national economy and social sector including health, sports and education systems and ranks them among the key policy priorities [6]. It may be pertinent to consider at this juncture, in the context of the mainstream national polices and modern global chess movement progress trends, the recent landslide advancement of the digital transformations in chess sport [2].

Presently the digital transformations in the national physical education and sports sector is clearly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the related deepening economic crisis. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had to cancel the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and virtually every other summer and winter event in 2020. The situation offers, however, a window of opportunities for chess as an intellectual sport (as defined by the IOC) that has in fact made a successful revolutionary transition from the offline to online reality. In 2020, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) deployed the Chess.com high-tech platform with freemium accounts and initiated an online World Chess Olympiad with 163 national teams and more than 1,500 competitors including the ones with disabilities [8].

Objective of the study was to consider the ongoing digital transformations in the chess training system and their benefits for the chess sport progress, popularity and accomplishments in many aspects including equal and inclusive opportunities that secure harmonized and socially responsible progress for everyone in sport.

Methods and structure of the study. We analyzed, for the purposes of the study, the physical education-and-sports-related decrees, federal laws, legal and regulatory documents of the Strategic Research Center of the Russian Federation and Digital Economy Development Foundation [6, 7]. Of special interest was an analysis of the Physical Education and Sports Sector Digitalization Concept developed by the Ministry of Sports for the period 2019-2024, in the context of the sports training systems and physical education and sports management reforms [4]. We also made a systematic analysis of the valid regulatory and legal provisions of the Russian Chess Federation and FIDE with concern to the сhess training system based on the global chess movement progress analyses [5]. We generalized the relevant policy documents, archive materials, study reports on the сhess training system and systematized our own practical training and coaching service digitalization experiences having implemented the digital training technologies at the Russian State Social University’s Chess House [1-3]. It should be mentioned in this context that Russian State Social University task force is developing a digital eco-platform "World Chess Class Digital" viewed as a client-sensitive social project.

Results and discussion. The сhess training system digitalization process is driven by the following resources, models and concepts: B. Skinner's programmed teaching concept; P.Y. Galperin’s intellectual progress and concept staged formation model; W. Stern psychographing method; computerized сhess training methods by A. Turing, C. Shannon, M.M. Botvinnik and G.K. Kasparov; growing modern AI/ IT/ communication/ cloud technologies by F. Rosenblatt, D. Rumelhart, D. Hassabis, M. Lai etc. [1]. It should be emphasized that the ongoing сhess training system digitalization is advanced by the synergized IT/ communication, cloud and BigData technologies applied in the relevant chess databases including ChessBase and ChessAssistant, plus resources of the modern AI "AlphaZero" and neural networks [3]. Note that the modern сhess training system digitalization process secures the online environments effectively complementing the offline ones rather than opposing them. Given in Table 1 hereunder is the сhess training system digitalization history analysis.

Table 1. Сhess training system digitalization history analysis: key points

Our own coaching and teaching experience accumulated at the Chess House of Russian State Social University gives us the grounds to believe that the modern сhess training system digitalization technologies secure fast individual progresses with special benefits for the personality development agenda and equal progress opportunities in the sport. The radical ongoing digitalization of the сhess training system methods, models and tools has heavily contributed to the amazing progress of the chess sport at Russian State Social University. This social formally unsporting university has lately been very successful in training many gifted chess players including the national team members.

The ongoing сhess training system digitalization process, however, needs to be further supported by the Ministry of Sports by extensive regulatory provisions with the road maps for the Federal Sports Training Standards revision in application to chess. The valid FSTS approved in 2015 has outdated since then with their archaic chess training system that needs being digitalized in every its element [2]. Regretfully, the theoretical and practical provisions for the сhess training system digitalization process in the Chess Sport Development Program of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2024 are limited by only the cheating control provisions for chess tournaments.

Conclusion. The сhess training system digitalization service with its IT/ communication, AI, cloud and cyber security components and benefits for the inclusive social and educational services offers great opportunities for an individual intellectual resource mobilization for progress and success in modern chess sport. The persistent efforts to improve the available online chess play-and-learn systems with the relevant cloud/ IT/ communication services has fast simplified the сhess training system process and made it more efficient. Progress of the сhess training system digitalization service, however, is still limited by the shortage of top-skilled training personnel having the modern digital competencies testable by the relevant test systems (KPI). It is a high time for the Ministry of Sports to create the relevant ITC and cloud service registers. The national academic education system should take efforts to renew and complement the chess training service by modern digital training and progress test elements. The efforts to train the chess sport reserve need to be facilitated by the Federal Sports Training Standards revisions in the context of the modern сhess training system digitalization trends and the global and national economic and epidemiological situations.

References

1. Alifirov A.I., Mikhaylova I.V., Pravdov D.M., Petrova M.A. Conceptual approaches to chess training process. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 2020. No. 7. pp. 27- 29.
2. Mikhaylova I.V., Stepanova O.N. Chess sport: present situation and national and global progress trends. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 2018. No. 10. pp. 98-100.
3. Mikhaylova I.V., Akhmetov A.Z., Petrova M.A. Alphazero as mainstream of chess sports evolution. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 2020. No. 5. pp. 103-104.
4. Order "On approval of the Concept of digitalization of the state system of training and management in physical education and sport sector of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation for the period 2019-2024. Official website of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation [Electronic resource] Available at: https://minsport.gov.ru/documents/ministry-orders/ (Date of access: 24.08.2020)
5. The program "Development of chess sport in the Russian Federation" [Electronic resource] Russian Chess Federation [Official website]. Available at: https://ruchess.ru/downloads/2020/program_2020_2024.pdf / (Date of access: 24.08.2020).
6. Decree on the national development goals of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030. Official network resources of the President of Russia [Electronic resource] Available at: http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/63728 (Date of access: 24.08.2020)
7. Sports Digitalization Forum - Forum. digitalsport 2020. Official website of Digital Economy Development Fund [Electronic resource] Available at: http://digitalrus.online/2020/06/29/cifrovye-reshenia-v-sporte/ (Date of access: 24.08.2020)
8. FIDE Online Olympiad 2020 [FIDE Online Olympiad 2020]. Official website of the International Chess Federation [Electronic resource] Available at: https://olymp.fide.com / (Date of access: 24.08.2020)

Corresponding author: peshkova_ffk@mail.ru