Why playing chess is good for children?

It's lunch break at a regional New South Wales school and the library is buzzing with excited students.

Rows of chess boards are out and young minds are ticking.

It's been known as 'the game of kings', but chess has evolved to enjoy a much more modern following and become increasingly popular among Australian schoolchildren.

At Port Macquarie's St Columba Anglican School, Paul Rikmanis said conditions had been just right for the growth in chess.

"Our chess club has been a growing juggernaut; it's been a perfect storm of conditions for chess," he said.

"We've grown a primary school [group] of students who are eager and keen to play chess and our secondary school experienced some success at state titles last year.

"Then throw in the TV Netflix series, the Queen's Gambit, and we've seen a few of the senior players come back into the fold as well."

According to streaming giant Netflix, The Queen's Gambit — a 2020 television adaptation of the 1983 novel by Walter Tevis about orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon — was watched by 62 million households in its first 28 days.

Mr Rikmanis, who is the school's director of teaching and learning, said there were not enough chess boards to go around during school lunch breaks and there were many benefits to students.

"Chess can be quite competitive and intense … it's quite the workout in the mental muscles," he said.

"I know myself I can feel my heart rate rising rapidly when I am in an intense game, so it is quite an adventure."

Mr Rikmanis said chess developed students' critical thinking abilities.

"Playing chess is just problem-solving exercise, after problem-solving exercise, so students are always looking for patterns, connecting ideas, they are analysing the board, they are trying to think ahead of what they are doing and what their opponent is doing."

New study: chess teaches kids how to take risks

A recent study by Monash and Deakin Universities found children who were taught chess and played regularly over time were more likely to be less risk-averse than their peers and playing chess could also boost maths and rational thinking skills.

The researchers examined the effects of intensive chess lessons with more than 400 Year 5 students, who had no previous exposure to the game, and the results were published in the Journal of Development Economics.

Students were assessed on their cognitive and non-cognitive behavioural changes, including risk, time management and ability to focus, for nearly a year after the training had ended.

Results showed that playing chess from a young age could decrease risk-aversion through exposure to win/loss situations and competition, as well as strategic risk-taking.

The study was led by Professor Asad Islam, director at the Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability, Monash Business School.

He said risk and reward was a concept articulated well in the game of chess, where players often sacrificed pawns, knights and bishops, if it helped checkmate the opponent's king and win the game.

"Such sacrifices are inherently risky because if one's calculations are faulty, the sacrifice could prove to be fatal, eventually leading to a quick loss," Professor Islam said.

"Children need to know how to take calculated risks. In many life situations, it is also the case that with great risk often comes great reward.

"However, the line between necessary calculated risk-taking and reckless behaviour is sometimes difficult to determine. Learning chess can help bridge that gap."

Mr Rikmanis said it was a fascinating finding.

"The idea of taking a risk that is in a calculated fashion is something we really want our students, our children, to develop," he said.

"We want to see them thrive in society and you can't thrive in society by sitting back and doing everything the same way that has been done before."

The school's senior competitive chess players agreed chess was often a series of calculated risks.

"I like to consider myself a bit of an adrenalin junkie, so I like to come to chess to get my adrenalin hit," Timothy Ebbs joked.

"Chess is like a brain sport and I like to think about the moves, the strategies behind it, and all the possibilities of where to move the pieces," fellow student Jacob Mills said.

"When we play against other schools for competitions it's pretty nerve-racking and my hand is shaking when I am moving the pieces.

"It's pretty hard, you have to learn when to take the risk, how to take the risk and what benefit can I get out of that and what are the losses."

I sit facing my two oldest children who are the grand ages of 5 and 7. I pick up my bishop and take one of their pawns. A sense of victory tinged with guilt. I don’t want to walk all over them but it feels good to win. I am learning how to play chess with my kids.

Have you ever thought of playing chess with your kids? I know, it sounds rather complicated, but actually it’s an awesome game.

I am not the world’s best chess player.

Scratch that! I am a very basic chess player and if I were to play anyone above the age of 5, they would probably win.

OK, I’ll admit it.

My 7 year old normally beats me.

The kids think this is great because they know they stand a chance of beating me.

Quite a big chance really.

Not only is chess great fun…

(I’m all for playing with your kids, it’s a great way to connect with them, but let’s be honest, how many rounds of “happy families” and “snap” do you really enjoy?)

Not only is chess great fun, it’s also fantastic to help those little brains grow in great ways. It helps develop all sorts of skills that help your kids grow into “all round awesome, fantastical people who will be happy and successful”.

That’s what we all want right?

(That’s not a “FACT”…that’s my explanation.)

There are heaps of publications that say that chess is great for adults and kids. Don’t worry! You don’t have to read them all. I’ve put the general gist here.

Benefits of Playing Chess with Your Kids

1. Chess helps you Concentrate

It’s a reasonably long and involved game. My kids love it so much, they get so involved. You can see the gears whirring, the clogs ticking. The brain being exercised.

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2.Chess Develops Problems Solving Skills

What happens if you put your pawn there? Is mummy likely to take it with her queen? How do you get to your ultimate goal of killing your opponents king?

I’m always surprised when I’m busy concentrating on a little pawn when suddenly my king is under attack.

My kids are good at attacking!

3. Chess Improves Your Memory

Just remembering how all the pieces move is enough to stretch my memory. There are heaps of other moves that you can read up on as well.

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4. Playing Chess Uses both sides of Your Brain

Chess is a great 3D game and exercises both parts of your brain. As we get older we focus more on one side, the left side and let our right side of the brain get lazy. The more we use both sides of the brain, the better. Brains need to be used and exercised to function at their maximum capacity.

5. Playing Chess Can Raise Your IQ.

Clever people play chess. FACT.

6. Chess Teaches Planning and Fore Sight

To start with, it's enough to work out how each piece moves. After a few games, your kids will be planning their grand attack strategy. They'll also start to think about whether their pieces are going to come under attack when they move them into a new place. 

7. Chess Helps with Strategy Thinking

As they progress, they'll start to see that for each move there are several possible things that they COULD do. But they're only allowed to make one move. So they'll start to think through the possible out comes of each move and decide which strategy is best.

8. Chess Improves Your Attention Span

When you’re involved and enjoying something, you’re more likely to concentrate for longer. Do that frequently and you’ll soon improve your attention span.

And the attention span of your kids.

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9. Chess Improves Reading Skills

A study in 1991 looked at reading performance in elementary schools and compared it with children who didn’t play chess. The kids who played chess were above the national average for reading skills (and they were from a district that overall was below the national average.) I’m sure it’s just to do with getting all those bits of your brain working.

10. Chess Increases Creativity.

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

See? All those benefits just from playing a game.

The best part of all these brain-inducing benefits of playing chess is that they just come naturally. You just play chess and have fun. You don’t need to worry about the benefits, it’s not like sitting down to study a book.

Chess is Good for Adults too!

And (whispers quietly) yep, it’s great for your kids, but it’s also great for you! As adults, we are so stuck in what we do, it’s great to give our brains a mental work out, to keep it exercising. There was a study that said that people over 75 who played games like chess were less likely to get Alzheimer’s disease.

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Play More Chess with Your Kids

Playing chess is great fun and it’s not difficult.

We’re aiming to play chess once a week. When we’re a bit more competent, I think we’ll have a chess tournament.

You don’t have to be the world champion to enjoy chess. ANOTHER FACT.

I move my queen into a space, ready to pounce on a “prawn”. A second later, Galen has whisked it away and replaced it with his own pawn.

“Why did you move it there mummy? Didn’t you think about our pawn taking you?”

Clearly not.

Perhaps I could do with thinking a bit more about “planning and fore sight” myself.

Not to worry, their collective age is only 12. I’m sure I can beat a 12 year old at chess…

Perhaps I could if I didn’t have a toddler poking my now dead queen into my ear and rearranging all my pieces for me.

I wonder if playing chess helps with “being a super calm, tranquil and incredibly patient mother” as well?

Some Chess Things to Get You Started

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UK

Chess for Kids

Starting Chess

Wooden Chess Set

USA

Chess for Kids

Starting Chess

Wooden Chess Set