The Tribal Welfare Department is introducing chess in Government Tribal Residential Schools and Eklavya Model Residential Schools across the State. This will start from the next academic year. They aim to improve the academic outcomes of tribal students using chess. The department is training physical education teachers to include chess in classrooms. Recently, a three-day workshop was held at Madras Christian College for this purpose. Forty-two teachers from tribal schools attended. Rita Atkins, Women’s International Master, and Ebinezer Joseph from FIDE Chess in Education explained the educational value of chess to the teachers. Last year, 22 teachers received chess training. Some schools already use chess voluntarily to engage students better. For example, M. Thangadurai, a teacher at a tribal school in Salem district, has been holding chess classes since 2022 after the Chess Olympiad in Chennai. He noticed better concentration and thinking skills among students. The department plans to expand the program with more teacher training and structured chess clubs next year. G. Laxmi Priya, Secretary of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare, said the goal is to make chess a learning tool and boost cognitive skills. The department will also hold interschool chess contests and assess student progress after the chess program begins.