The Armenian Virtual College (AVC) continues to expand its programs through new initiatives in an effort to keep up with present-day advancements in technology and e-learning practices. Keeping up with the highest international standards in online learning, the school caters to the educational needs of Armenia as defined by the Ministry of Education. The Chess Program has been designed with both junior and adult students in mind. The course has recently been initiated by AVC in collaboration with the Armenian Chess Federation, a move that supports the Government’s stance on having chess mandatory classes on elementary school curricula. From January 18 to 20, 2013, Armenia hosted the first FIDE Presidential Board (PB) of the year in the resort city of Tsakhadzor. The president of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, Fide president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, and 24 members of the chess international federation took part in the three-day discussions regarding chess issues worldwide. Among topics discussed were Armenia’s successful attempts to introduce mandatory chess courses in elementary schools since 2011. The Fide President emphasized Armenia’s important role in the field of chess, specifically through the inclusion of chess in the public school curricula. The Vice-President of the Armenian Chess Federation, Smbat Lputian, discussed the achievements in the field of chess since its introduction into the country’s school curriculum, citing the joint project with AVC: “To achieve greater results, jointly with AGBU, we started developing online chess courses. Leveraging the online teaching experience of the Armenian Virtual College, we recorded admirable achievements by targeting different age groups, from children to adults, using varying teaching methods”. The presentation also revealed that the impact of visually impressive means and age specific psychological features had been taken into account in structuring the lessons to reach maximum learning results. “AVC’s online experience in multimedia techniques has been utilized to make the classes visually attractive to grab learner’s attention and making the learning process fun and enjoyable”, says Dr. Zorian. The program aims to develop students’ specific characteristics and learning capabilities, including concentration, creativity and strategic thinking. The program has three levels – basic, intermediate, and advanced and will offer its first course during 2013. Through the chess program, the Armenian Virtual College intends to play a unique role in developing chess-thinking and chess culture in Armenia and worldwide. Watch Fide Meeting clicking the link 2013 FIDE PB Meeting Learn about Chess Courses clicking the link AVC Chess Courses