Why chess in schools?
The benefits of chess for children have been described and researched. And they are enormous.
By playing chess, children develop or sharpen:- The ability to visualize moves and patterns in their minds;
- To create plans;
- To focus their thoughts and energies;
- To solve problems as they occur, to apply sets of knowledge in dynamic and creative ways.
All these skills are transferable to other academic fields.
In an age where information is being created at rates well beyond that of any other area, it is not enough to assimilate that information but it must be processed in a highly intelligent way. Chess helps that process.
These are already compelling arguments. There is more.
Over the last 50 years several empirical researches have been demonstrating the existence of a direct relation between the cognitive ability and chess playing.
Chess education proves to be extremely effective with children for the following reasons:
Because chess:- Involves all aspects of critical thinking
- Requires intense concentration and visualization
- Stimulates intellectual creativity through easy experimentation
- Emphasizes the dynamic application of knowledge
- Demands children to take responsibility for their own thinking
- Improves problem-solving skills;
- Demands children to take responsibility for their own thinking;
- Is shared and learned on a peer level;
- Inculcates a positive competitive attitude;
- Allows children to participate in the adult world in a meaningful way;
- Makes learning how to think fun!
- Chess raises self-esteem
- Chess teaches determination, self-motivation and sportmanship
- Chess occupies time in a positive manner
- Children from all social backgrounds, ages, races and genders can enjoy and/or succeed at chess.
These are all compelling reasons. If you want more academic information you can download the document Benefits of Chess. This document is a compilation of Studies and Papers on Chess and Education compiled by Patrick S. McDonald.