PhD, Associate Professor I.V. Mikhailova¹
Associate Professor O.G. Rysakova¹
PhD, Associate Professor E.D. Bakulina^1
1Russian State Social University, Moscow

Corresponding author: chessy07@mail.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to offer provisions for a digitalized chess training ecosystem using modern digital data processing technologies within an interdisciplinary system control framework.

Methods and structure of the study. We have analyzed for the purposes of the study the best digitalized training ecosystem design and implementation experiences accumulated by universities; and summarized the relevant theoretical and practical educational developments in the digital educational technologies, digital tools and services applicable in the Russian State Social University distance education service on the whole and digitalized chess training service in particular.

Results and conclusion. We believe that further progress of the chess training system will be facilitated by improvements and expansion of the university chess training assets and services with further (up to total) transition to the digital learning materials and aids including the modern high-quality online learning and digitalized training management systems, plus – the last but not least – permanent progress of the chess teachers’ digitalized training knowledgebase, competences and experiences.

The experimental digitalized training service was tested beneficial due to the combined new data processing, communication and training technologies with their theoretical and practical electronic toolkits. The service provides a basis for the chess training process automation on an objective progress test basis to make the chess training service much more inclusive and productive. The university resource mobilizing efforts to facilitate progress of the chess training ecosystem have proved particularly beneficial for the students’ human resource development and progress encouragement aspects.

Keywords: chess sport, ecosystem, interdisciplinarity, digital transformation, system control, inclusion.

Background. Chess training service in Russia has been provided by RSUFCSYT since 1966 and Russian State Social University since 2002. For the last 65 years, RSUFCSYT has trained more than 600 chess coaches and 80 world class grandmasters, and 10 university graduates have won titles of the World and Olympic champions in the individual and team events. Russian State Social University has trained more than 60 chess trainers/ managers and 112 chess trainers for the Grassroots Chess Training in Russia Project for 20 years. It should be emphasized that the latter university with its non-core chess training service has trained more than 20 world class grandmasters, and seven Russian State Social University graduates have won titles of the World and Olympic champions and qualified for the Russian national chess team.

Objective of the study was to offer provisions for a digitalized chess training ecosystem using modern digital data processing technologies within an interdisciplinary system control framework.

Methods and structure of the study. We have analyzed for the purposes of the study the best digitalized training ecosystem design and implementation experiences accumulated by universities [2, 3, 7]; and summarized the relevant theoretical and practical educational developments in the digital educational technologies, digital tools and services applicable in the Russian State Social University distance education service [4, 8] on the whole and digitalized chess training service in particular [1, 5].

Results and discussion. Since 2012 Russian State Social University takes efforts to implement a chess training ecosystem viewed as the technological mechanism operating within the interdisciplinary chess sport framework: see Figure 1 hereunder.

Figure 1. Chess training ecosystem in operation at Russian State Social University

The chess training ecosystem design offers a wide range of opportunities for targeted chess training trainings within its external and internal contours (subsystems). The external contour may be described as the versatile subsystem of the Russian State Social University relations with potential employers and corporate partners (FIDE and CFR), R&D project clientele (ministries of sports, labor and social protection, science and higher education); international partners that offer internships and foreign trainings to the Russian State Social University students; and contributors to International Cup of the Russian State Social University “Moscow Open". The inner chess training contour refers to own chess training assets of Russian State Social University including: International Chess Sport Center; Chess House; Technopark; and the Children's and Youth Sports School; plus the Complex Research Group (CRG), a headliner of the national inclusive chess training.

The chess training ecosystem was designed based on the key pedagogical concepts including the B. Skinner's programmed teaching concept; P.Y. Galperin’s staged systematic mental notions and operations formation concept; W. Stern’s psychographics method; and I.V. Mikhailova’s  chess technologies and toolkits digitalization concept. These basic provisions made it possible to largely and effectively transform the pre-electronic-age chess training system of 2002-2013 into the new digitalized chess training system of 2014-2020 that takes full benefits of the modern digital open chess training platforms – and has fast multiplied the target audience among other things [1].

The ongoing productive cooperation of Russian State Social University and Russia-based Dive Software developer has resulted in the following new digital chess training platforms: Anatoly Karpov's Chess Lessons, Chess University, and World Chess Class Digital. Thus the internal contour of the chess training ecosystem now offers both the health-protection and chess training technologies using the MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) platforms.

This progress in the system resource helped update the chess training service goals, coverage and institutional forms to LMS and effectively apply the modern BigData resources for the Chess University and Anatoly Karpov's Chess Lessons platforms.

Benefits of the new chess training ecosystem at Russian State Social University were proved by an experimental digitalized chess training course offered by the CRG to more than 1000 bachelor students recruited to the offline and online chess training courses in 2020-21. The experimental group digitalized chess training trainings were different from the traditional ones in the chess training service digitalization, modern formats, chess training methods and services. The digitalized chess training model testing experiment was finalized by the statistical processing of the experimental test data with account of the W. Stern longitudinal psychographics concept [6].

In the experimental digitalized chess training service, we tested and processed the test data to standardize and visualize the gradual psychophysical progress of every individual on a general psychograph. Given on Figure 2 hereunder is the psychograph visualizing the pre- versus post-experimental (test 1 versus 8) test data indicative of the individual progress in mnemonic and intellectual functions, psychological traits and mental-emotional controls.

Figure 2. Pre- versus post-experimental (test 1 versus 8) test data of the experimental group trained at digitalized chess training course in 2020-21

To simplify the test data analysis, the test rates were converted to a 10-point scale. It should be mentioned that the EG trained in the digitalized chess training format only made significant progress of 1.5 points on the Fast Memory, Fast Thinking and Analyzing Function scales. Having analyzed the psychophysical test data, we would emphasize the EG progress (of 10-16%) on every test scale – that may be interpreted as indicative of the wide-ranging improvements in the psychophysical health and control in the digitalized chess training service.

We believe that further progress of the chess training system will be facilitated by improvements and expansion of the university chess training assets and services with further (up to total) transition to the digital learning materials and aids including the modern high-quality online learning and digitalized training management systems, plus – the last but not least – permanent progress of the chess teachers’ digitalized training knowledgebase, competences and experiences.

Conclusion. The experimental digitalized training service was tested beneficial due to the combined new data processing, communication and training technologies with their theoretical and practical electronic toolkits. The service provides a basis for the chess training process automation on an objective progress test basis to make the chess training service much more inclusive and productive. The university resource mobilizing efforts to facilitate progress of the chess training ecosystem have proved particularly beneficial for the students’ human resource development and progress encouragement aspects.

References

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