Using the rules and tools of chess, the Chess Palace Complex Skills Development Program places in context the material of basic school subjects for 6 to 10 year-olds and supports the skill-level acquisition of structured, logical thinking. This method can be used effectively for children with special educational needs. Supporting practical use, the curriculum for Year 1 from the now eight-volume series was honored with the Best European Learning Materials Awards (BELMA) special award for innovation in 2015. According to the professional jury, “….the internal coherence of the material is excellent: lessons and teaching materials build on each other, lessons plans are carefully designed to activate previously acquired knowledge, the teacher’s handbook, the student textbook and the exercise book complement each other very well. The material is cross-curricular: it uses a lot of references and develops important skills for other subjects like math, writing etc.”