Benefits of playing chess

23 February 2014, Kuala Lumpur – Found a website outlining the benefits of chess based on various studies in many countries. Here are a few sampled studies that undertook studies and the benefits of playing chess to the players.

STUDIES

In a 1973-74 Zaire study conducted by Dr. Albert Frank, employing 92 students, age 16-18, the chess-playing experimental group showed a significant advancement in spatial, numerical and administrative-directional abilities, along with verbal aptitudes, compared to the control group. The improvements held true regardless of the final chess skill level attained. [1], [2], [7]

In a 1974-1976 Belgium study, a chess-playing experimental group of fifth graders experienced a statistically significant gain in cognitive development over a control group, using Piaget's tests for cognitive development. Perhaps more noteworthy, they also did significantly better in their regular school testing, as well as in standardized testing administered by an outside agency which did not know the identity of the two groups. Quoting Dr. Adriaan de Groot: ...``In addition, the Belgium study appears to demonstrate that the treatment of the elementary, clear-cut and playful subject matter can have a positive effect on motivation and school achievement generally...'' [1], [3], [7]

In a 1977-1979 study at the Chinese University in Hong Kong by Dr. Yee Wang Fung, chess players showed a 15% improvement in math and science test scores. [4]

A four-year study (1979-1983) in Pennsylvania found that the chess-playing experimental group consistently outperformed the control groups engaged in other thinking development programs, using measurements from the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking.[1], [4], [5], [6], [7], [23]

The 1979-1983 Venezuela ``Learning to Think Project,'' which trained 100,000 teachers to teach thinking skills and involved a sample of 4,266 second grade students, reached a general conclusion that chess, methodologically taught, is an incentive system sufficient to accelerate the increase of IQ in elementary age children of both sexes at all socio-economic levels. [1], [7], [8], [9], [10]

During his governor's teacher grant from the New Jersey State Department of Education, William Levy found that chess consistently (1980-1987) promoted self-esteem after a year of exposure. Many students' self-images improved dramatically. [7], [11]

According to a two-year study conducted in Kishinev under the supervision of N.F. Talisina, grades for young students taking part in the chess experiment increased in all subjects. Teachers noted improvement in memory, better organizational skills, and for many increased fantasy and imagination (Education Ministry of the Moldavian Republic, 1985). [1], [7]

In his 1986 pilot study, Dr. Ferguson found that it is possible to enhance achievement by focusing on individuals' modality strengths, creating an individualized thinking plan, analyzing and reflecting upon one's own problem solving processes, sharing his/her thinking system with peers, and modifying the system to integrate other modalities. [1], [7], [12]

During the 1987-88 ``Development of Reasoning and Memory through Chess,'' all students in a rural Pennsylvania sixth grade self-contained classroom were required to participate in chess lessons and play games. None of the pupils had previously played chess. The pupils significantly improved in both memory and verbal reasoning. The effect of the magnitude of the results is strong (eta 2 is .715 for the Memory test gain compared to the Norm). These results suggest that transfer of the skills fostered through the chess curriculum did occur. [1], [7], [13]

A 1989-92 New Brunswick, Canada study, using 437 fifth graders split into three groups, experimenting with the addition of chess to the math curriculum, found increased gains in math problem-solving and comprehension proportionate to the amount of chess in the curriculum. [14]

A 1990-92 study using a sub-set of the New York City Schools Chess Program produced statistically significant results concluding that chess participation enhances reading performance. [15], [16], [23]

“Playing Chess: A Study of Problem-Solving Skills in Students with Average and Above Average Intelligence,'' a study by Philip Rifner, was conducted during the 1991-1992 school term. The study sought to determine whether middle school students who learned general problem solving skills in one domain could apply them in a different domain. Data indicated that inter-domain transfer can be achieved if teaching for transfer is an instructional goal. [17]

During the 1995-1996 school year, two classrooms were selected in each of five schools. Students (N = 112) were given instruction in chess and reasoning in one classroom in each school. Pupils in the chess program obtained significantly higher reading scores at the end of the year. It should be noted that while students in the chess group took chess lessons, the control group (N = 127) had additional classroom instruction in basic education. The control group teacher was free to use the ``chess period'' any way he/she wanted, but the period was usually used for reading, math or social studies instruction. The control groups thus had more reading instruction than the chess groups.

Even so, the chess groups did better on the reading post-test; therefore, the gains in the chess groups were particularly impressive. [18]

In a 1994-97 Texas study, regular (non-honors) elementary students who participated in a school chess club showed twice the improvement of non-chess players in Reading and Mathematics between third and fifth grades on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. [19], [20]

Researchers and educators have questioned what causes this growth. The Venezuelan study claimed: ``Chess develops a new form of thinking, and this exercise is what contributes to increase the intelligence quotient.'' [10] More recent researchers speculate that it is the growth of new synaptic connections. Chess promotes the growth of dendrites!

Why does chess have this impact? Briefly, there appear to be at least seven significant factors: 1) Chess accommodates all modality strengths. 2) Chess provides a far greater quantity of problems for practice. 3) Chess offers immediate punishments and rewards for problem solving. 4) Chess creates a pattern or thinking system that, when used faithfully, breeds success. The chess playing students had become accustomed to looking for more and different alternatives, which resulted in higher scores in fluency and originality. 5) Competition. Competition fosters interest, promotes mental alertness, challenges all students, and elicits the highest levels of achievement (Stephan, 1988). 6) A learning environment organized around games has a positive affect on students' attitudes toward learning. This affective dimension acts as a facilitator of cognitive achievement

(Allen & Main, 1976). [21]

Instructional gaming is one of the most motivational tools in the good teacher's repertoire. Children love games. Chess motivates them to become willing problem solvers and spend hours quietly immersed in logical thinking. These same young people often cannot sit still for fifteen minutes in the traditional classroom. 7) Chess supplies a variety and quality of problems. As Langen (1992) states: ``The problems that arise in the 70-90 positions of the average chess game are, moreover, new. Contexts are familiar, themes repeat, but game positions never do. This makes chess good grist for the problem-solving mill.''

To read more, please visit this link here: http://www.quadcitychess.com/benefits_of_chess.html

Benefits of Playing Chess for Kids and Adults

13 May 2012, Kuala Lumpur – Here is an article extolling the benefits of chess written by Martin Gerschenfeld (USCF 2054, FIDE 1900).

The benefits of chess is a topic that has been debated by both parents and scholars alike for quite a few years now. As education becomes more competitive parents are always looking for any edge they can find to sharpen their children’s’ minds. It’s this exact pressure that has led people to many incorrect conclusions that we’re later proven false. One good example was the crazy in the 90′s and early 2000′s of playing classical music to your babies or children to make them smarter which was later proven false. Unlike many of these fads, there is no doubt about the benefits of chess. The evidence is clear that playing chess benefits the mind in both young and old alike.

The Benefits of Playing Chess for Kids – Does Chess Belong in The Classroom?

I really enjoyed an article that recently came out on the BBC Website asking whether every child should be made to play chess. The article debates the important question: Should chess be taught in school curriculum?

Chess is a very addictive process, a positive drug for children – Grandmaster Raymond Keene

It is very clear that playing chess has its benefits, there is no doubt here. However where there is doubt is whether these advantages can be used outside of the world of chess. The results on the benefits of chess in the real world show mixed, but encouraging results.

Children who start playing chess at a young age will gain increased:

• Focus
• Self-confidence
• Patience
• Logical thinking skills
• Imagination
• Problem solving skills
• Memory (especially spatial memory)
• Mental agility
• Mental resistance

Does Chess Belong in the classroom? - Image courtesy of Susan Polgar

But let’s not forget the most important benefit of chess for both kids and adults is that its a tremendous amount of fun! After all, the brain is like a muscle and chess is like a gym. Evidently playing chess is great for the mind and its benefits are interconnected. You start learning chess, you win a few games, your self esteem goes up, you get more into the game and you start thinking more logically, you improve your imagination. To play chess you must remember positions and distinguish patterns which force you to use your memory, after you improve your calculations you can apply this skill in math and start multiplying numbers fast. Last of all, after enduring a chess game for 4 hours, everything else seems easy. How do these benefits transfer into other aspects of life?

Advantages and Benefits of Chess For Adults

Chess can benefit adults as well though the benefits of chess for adults is more debated

With so many articles written about the benefits of chess for young children, there doesn’t seem to be many studies about the benefits of chess for adults. With adults it becomes a little trickier to study the benefits of chess. The correlation is hard to distinguish. A good place to start would be the study of the successes of grandmasters outside of the chess board. What I can confirm is that expert chess players tend to be experts in other aspects. After all Ruben Fine was not only a strong American Player and but one of the top psychologists of the world at the time. Soviet Union Grandmasters were experts in their area of university study; Mikhail Tal was a specialist in literature, besides his chess skills Victor Korchnoi was also a world renowned geographer. The most recent example is that of Kenneth Rogoff, an American grandmaster who also has a Ph. D in Economics teaching in Harvard. But correlation doesn’t always mean causation. Maybe chess makes people more intelligent, or maybe intelligent people are just more attracted to chess!

My Own Personal Benefits of Teaching Chess

Parents of our students frequently say they see improvement both on and off the chess board.

I’ve been playing chess since I was 8, and I can tell you my personal experience, after I started understanding chess I realized everything in School was easier, I got very bored during classes keeping an A average. I don’t want to go so far as to say that chess has made me “smarter” but I’ve clearly benefited from it in that I understand difficult concepts more clearly. In all my classes I could keep focus, understand the concepts, memorize them and save myself from studying. The area which I saw the best advantage was mathematics. I struggled with math as a young child but the more I got into chess, the better I got at math. Unsurprisingly, chess and math have the highest positive correlation of all subjects. It’s no surprise that many chess grandmasters are Mathematicians, John NunnMaxime Vachier Lagrave and Emmanuel Lasker being two instant examples that come to mind.

So, Should Chess Be Taught At Schools?

As you can see it’s hard to quantify the benefits of playing chess. It is clearly a complex matter but I wish to give my humble opinion. Learning Chess is probably one of the most important pedagogical tools, whoever can take advantage of it, go ahead! The problem is when chess is forced upon kids and these kids don’t want to learn and they end up hating it. Chess is divided into different stages, an initial stage where you learn to move the pieces, watch out for basic threats, the next stage involves basic tactics, and so on. Getting from one stage to the next is hard, it might take two weeks or maybe a few months based on how fast your brain and your play can adapt to the change. My teacher says that the learning habits of a chess player is ascending spiral, you improve until you reach your point and then you lose interest because you don’t see any improvement but when you come back you are stronger. The real problem with teaching chess to small children is that chess maturity comes at around 12, during this time they start taking the game more seriously. For these reasons I think chess should be taught at chess clubs, especially at a young age. Whether I’m right or wrong on the subject has yet to be seen. However now that Armenia has made chess a compulsory subject in schools we will just have to wait to see the effect of this law on this small country. Who knows, maybe their test scores will shoot up in 2-3 years proving that the benefits of chess, are in fact, quite real.

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. I put quite a bit of time into it. If you enjoyed it, please consider liking it, tweeting it, and following us on facebook. Thanks!

By Martin Gerschenfeld (USCF 2054, FIDE 1900)

To reach this article on the internet, please click here.