Chess as an optional subject has been present in primary schools in Serbia since September 2007. During the first two years, the research included 106 teachers and 3173 students from 83 schools, i.e. all the participants of the project of introducing Chess as an optional subject at schools. Insufficient chess proficiency of the existing teaching stuff has been found (52.83% of teachers were without chess categories or titles, and only 19.64% had passed the prior chess training; 47.4% from the entire number of students were taught by teachers without suitable chess qualifications), as well as their not sticking to the proposed curricula. Following the recommendations from this research, the whole sequence of synchronized activities followed directed to the training of the existing and future chess teachers, as well as changes of normative adjusted to the appreciated aims and the existing state. Results of the research which followed this process during the third and the fourth year point at the positive affect of these measures, but they cannot be considered as conclusive because of the too short time period.

chess as an optional subject; chess as didactical means; chess competence of teachers; training chess teachers; chess competence of teachers of chess as an elective subject in Serbian primary schools