Educational Benefits of Chess- FIDE TRG

 The educational benefits of chess are many and varied. They are well documented by a large body of research papers from around the world

There is so much evidence that i5 is easy to miss the wood for the trees, therefore this article is intentionally brief. If detailed evidence is required, please refer to the sources and links cited at the end of this article.

Benefits of Chess 

The Presidents of Cuba and United States agree:

Playing chess helps students develop thinking and analysing skills, concentration, greater self-control and self-confidence..  We have hard evidence that chess in the school works. William Jefferson Clinton

Chess ought to be a part of the school curriculum- Fidel Castro Ruiz

The most frequently cited general benefits include the development of:

• Cognitive abilities, such as attention, memory, and logical thinking; essential skills for the development of the individual.
• Creativity through problem solving
• Critical thinking, improving the ability to assess strengths and weaknesses, establish value judgements and make decisions.
• Ethical sense, Improvements in attitude and general behavior are often noted.

Specific benefits that are often mentioned include;

• Focusing- Children learn the benefits of observing carefully and concentrating. If they don't watch what is happening, they can't respond to it, no matter how smart they are.
• Visualizing- Children are prompted to imagine a sequence of actions before it happens. We actually strengthen the ability to visualize by training them to shift the pieces in their mind, first one, then several moves ahead.
• Thinking Ahead- Children learn to think first, then act. They learn to ask themselves "If I do this, what might happen then, and how can I respond? Over time chess helps develop patience and thoughtfulness.
• Weighing options- Children learn that they don't have to do the first thing that pops into their head. They learn to identify alternatives and consider the pros and cons of various actions.
• Analyzing Concretely- Children learn to evaluate the results of specific actions and sequences. Does this sequence help me or hurt me? Decisions are better when guided by logic, rather than impulse.
• Thinking Abstractly:-Children learn step back periodically details and consider the bigger picture. They also learn to take patterns used in one context and apply them to different but related situations.
• Planning- Children lean to develop longer range goals and take steps towards longer range goals and take steps towards bringing them about. They also learn the need to re-evaluate their plans as new developments change the situation.
• Juggling Multiple considerations simultaneously- Children are encouraged not to become overly absorbed in any one consideration, but to try to weigh various factors all at once.

The main benefit being that if contributes to the development of strategic thinking as well as concentration, analytical skills and problem solving- His Excellency former President Jacob Zuma