The Benefits of Chess

While the first question most people ask me is about how to start a chess club, the next questions are: “Is there any proof that chess has benefits for students?” and “Should I put my players into competition?”

Let’s begin with the research. If you want to take a deeper dive into the statistics, surveys, and studies done across the decades around the globe, I strongly recommend you visit the St. Louis Chess Club’s online research portal.

In 2012 the universities of Girona and Lleida, Spain evaluated the impact of weekly after-school chess play by students ages six-16, chess improves cognitive abilities, coping and problem-solving capacity, and even socioaffective development of children and adolescents who practice it.

"Socio-affective" strategies are a fancy way of talking about a non-academic activity (not math science or English class) that stimulates learning through personal interaction between instructor and student.

A similar study involving 5,000 children in the UK, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and undertaken by Chess in Schools and Communities.

Here's what they found overall

·       Increases concentration

·       Develops Problems Solving Skills

·       Expands memory: Chess helps forge new neural pathways in the brain by: remembering how all the pieces move, remembering and recognizing chess patterns, called “chess chunks.”

·       Builds/Rebuilds Neural Pathways in the Brain. Playing chess Uses both sides of Your Brain.

I spoke with Tufts University cognitive neuroscientist and child development expert Maryanne Wolf after one of her lectures in Norfolk, Virginia. I asked her how chess affects the brain.

She explained that chess exercises both parts of your brain. This isn’t just important for children because as we age we tend to get lazy.

We focus more on one side, the left side and let our right side of the brain retire.

However, the more we use both sides of the brain the closer we get to functioning at maximum capacity.

·       Teaches Planning and Foresight

·       Helps with Strategic Thinking

·       Improves Attention Span: Any time we can use our brains for a prolonged period of time, without interruption, in an activity that isn’t passive, like watching TV, we build attention span.

·       Chess Increases Creativity: Creativity is linked with the right side of your brain. Chess helps your children to come up with original, creative thoughts.

* Based on studies made public on the St. Louis Chess Club’s online Research Portal at https://saintlouischessclub.org/education/research