Throughout the years, we have met many educators from all over the world in our Training Courses and Discussion Group Meetings who are doing a great job with Chess in Education. We want to introduce their unique perspectives and share their stories that might be of interest and inspiration to others.
Meet Dominika Stochniałek from Poland
Dominika started teaching chess while she was still a secondary school student years ago. Currently, she is a teacher in Elementary School no. 52 in Poznań, a coordinator at Szachowa Gildia Swarzędz, a certified coach by the Polish Chess Association, National Arbiter, and Treasurer of the Wielkopolska Chess Association. She has gained the ECU School Chess Teacher Certificate and is working toward a Diploma from the Academic Training course Chess in Primary Education from the University of the Aegean.
Interview:
How did you become interested in and what was your experience with chess before teaching it?
When I first sat in front of the chessboard, I had no idea it would become an anchor for so many important things in my life.
My dad showed me the basics. Chess was going to be part of the curriculum for the next three years of my elementary school journey and he wanted me to be prepared. I don’t remember much from those early days. I’m told I was pretty talented, but looking back at my games, I think I was just lucky more than anything.
There weren’t many kids in my class who really cared about chess. Even in my entire region, most of the girls my age quit before reaching adulthood. Maybe that’s why I never set my goals very high. I could usually beat the people around me with minimal effort. I remember playing in the Polish U10 Championship and even one game in the top Polish Junior League. I was probably the weakest player ever to show up there, but my club was small and needed a substitute.
What stuck with me the most wasn’t a tournament, though. It was a conversation with the two coaches from my club. They told me I was sitting on my laurels, that I was disrupting the class and that I should start practicing seriously. They were right, but I was stubborn. I stopped taking chess seriously and only visited the club occasionally. I focused more on karate and soccer for a while. I joined a few chess camps to stay connected with my friends. I figured, since things had always come easily, I’d just keep improving naturally if I stuck with it.
What has your journey as a chess educator been like so far? When and how did it begin?
I started teaching chess in secondary school. Being on the autism spectrum and struggling with ADHD -though undiagnosed at the time – didn’t make friendships easy. I began helping out with the school chess club, working with younger kids who could barely spot the simplest tactics. One day, I was asked to help a new girl catch up. She lived nearby, so I bought some beginner books and started working with her.
Around 15, I decided to return to chess properly. Working with kids was fun, but I felt I needed to grow if I wanted to teach them well. Trying to improve on my own didn’t get me far. I never knew how to work systematically. So, I reached out to the only person I could think of: my childhood coach. Her son, now an International Master, was years younger than me and around my level at the time. He’d recently started training with a Grandmaster. I observed one of their lessons and immediately knew: this was what I needed. To make things easier, I was introduced as his cousin, a harmless lie that stuck for a while. We worked together for two or three years. He wasn’t just my coach; he became a mentor. Honestly, I think what I needed most back then was a therapist and somehow, he filled that role too.
Later, when the president of my chess club got sick and the lady who used to teach me at school and at the club couldn’t manage everything on her own, my mom stepped up and became the new club president. She did it for me, so I took on a big part of the work. By 18, I had become a certified coach and officially joined the club staff. I already had experience teaching children, thanks to a friend who had trusted me with weekly classes at a community center. Eventually, I even became the club’s president myself.
When COVID hit, I started teaching online and met students from all over the world. With the exchange rate working in my favor, I could offer affordable lessons and connect with people from different countries and backgrounds. Balancing work, university, teaching, playing and relationships wasn’t easy. I was eventually diagnosed with depression, a long story in itself. Looking back, I think I had been depressed for a very long time. But chess, the people I met thanks to chess and especially teaching chess, somehow kept me going. The joy of a student improving or even the frustration of losing a hard-fought game was still better than feeling nothing at all.
What inspired you to start using chess as an educational tool?
One day, my mom called to ask if I’d consider teaching chess at a school. I had already turned down a similar offer from my former school, so I wasn’t too excited about the idea. But it was my mom, so I figured I could at least go to the interview. Besides, the new challenge didn’t sound all that bad.
The headmistress turned out to be very kind. The kids already had chess classes with their elementary teacher 5 times a week (now it’s 6 times a week) and were divided into two smaller groups, so I wouldn’t have to teach the whole class every day. The school was far away but I could avoid traffic by taking the highway. And with my late-night online students, I was told I wouldn’t have to teach early in the morning. So I took the job. And now, over a year later, I’m still teaching there.
How would you describe your teaching philosophy?
I don’t teach chess to create champions. If one of my students ends up pursuing titles, that’s great—but it’s not the goal. What matters to me is that they have something to look back on. That they can play a friendly game years from now and connect with someone through it.
Any memorable or proud moments from your chess teaching experience?
Some of my favorite stories aren’t about trophies, they’re about connection. A bullied kid who found real friends through chess tournaments. A girl with a drug-addicted mother who bonded with her grandfather by solving puzzles together. A boy for whom Lichess arenas are the highlight of the week.
One of the most rewarding parts of teaching chess is seeing how it quietly shapes the children’s way of thinking. Some of them come in with no sense of structure and suddenly, they’re learning how to plan, stay focused and reflect on their decisions. Others find something they always felt they were missing, a way to belong, to connect or simply to feel good at something. I’ve seen shy kids become confident competitors. I’ve watched students learn to cope with loss and frustration, to try again even after failing multiple times. And I’ve seen them learn to think for themselves, not just over the board, but in life.
What are the values you want to pass on to the next generation?
I want my students to feel joy in the game. I want them to learn how to work toward a goal, how to grow through consistent effort and how to make mistakes and keep going. Chess is a board game, sure, but it’s also a space to understand the impact of our decisions and feel that we belong.
Chess teaches patience, resilience and self-awareness. It gives children a space where they can slow down and be proud of the progress they make.
Plans for the future? What are your long-term goals?
In January, I started a local chess club with a few friends, hoping to build something lasting in my hometown. We’re already on our way to qualifying for a higher league in the Team Championship, but results are just one small part of the vision. I want to create a space where kids who want to go further have the opportunity to grow—through better training, more events, and a supportive environment.
At the same time, I’ve become more involved on the organizational side of things. I’m now a National Arbiter and the Treasurer of my State Chess Federation, which, in hindsight, makes a lot of sense. I did study finance and accounting, after all.
I’m still learning as I go, but my goal is to help more kids find their place by playing chess here, in my hometown.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to introduce chess in their school or community but doesn’t know where to start?
Don’t wait until you feel fully ready. Start small. Use what you have. You don’t need to be a champion to teach someone how the pieces move and how to enjoy the game. What matters most is showing up, being kind and learning with your students along the way.