Why Chess?
When playing chess, your brain will be challenged to exercise logic, develop pattern recognition, make decisions both visually and analytically, and test your memory. Chess can be enjoyed by any age—as a result, these brain exercises can be part of the health of your brain for your entire life!
What benefits might chess provide to students?
Chess training and practice support the development of higher-order thinking skills—like problem-solving, decision-making, critical thinking, planning, and even creative thinking. Chess training and exercise also help improve general cognitive ability and academic achievement—especially in mathematics.
Competitive playing can also increase standardized testing scores. In a study by David I. Poston and Kathryn K. Ven
denkieboom, they compared the standardized test scores of kids who played chess and of those who did not. The kids who played chess always scored a higher percentile on math and were almost always higher on reading. Their evaluation dug deeper, and compared kids that learned just a little chess (coming to chess club only) versus those that were more serious and played in U.S. Chess Federation (USCF)-rated tournaments. Kids who came only to the chess club received a small (5%-10%) increase in Math, whereas kids who played in rated tournaments gained substantially in Math (30%-50%) and significantly in Reading (10%-20%). The benefits also continue to grow as kids play more tournaments and/or increase their USCF chess rating.
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In addition, it reinforces affective attributes such as patience, prudence, and perseverance. Two prominent virtues of chess are fairness and honesty. The international chess community promotes civil behavior and respect for the opponent but punishes players found to have cheated. Chess is a civil game with an ethical code that predisposes players to play respectfully with other individuals.
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Many students, including those with disabilities, can benefit educationally and psychologically from chess training.
Online chess training and online chess play have the potential for the betterment of students during and after the coronavirus pandemic.
how can seniors benefit from playing chess?
Seniors can benefit from learning and playing chess in various ways. Cognitive benefits include refining and maintaining higher-order thinking skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, critical thinking, planning, and even creative thinking.
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In addition, chess training and practice support the development of vigilance and awareness. Chess can involve many traps and tricks, and seniors can learn to deal with them, which may help them avoid scams and deception in everyday life.
Chess training and practice promote the development of mental sharpness and cognitive vitality among seniors that can help slow the onset of dementia.
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Finally, chess can serve as a great source of fun and cognitive stimulation—especially when chess is practiced as a social event.