How Does Learning Chess Help Children?

Chess is known across the world as a game of skill and intellect. Beloved by players young and old, the ancient game transcends language barriers–geographical ones too, thanks to the development of online play–and offers people from all corners of the globe a way to connect with one another on an even playing field. 

While having the means to forge these cross-cultural relationships is a useful tool in and of itself, learning to play chess offers numerous other benefits as well, particularly for young minds. So how exactly will learning chess help your child? Its impacts extend further than you might think. Let’s explore a few of the ways learning chess helps children in school, social settings, and beyond:

• Academic benefits

• Social and emotional benefits

• Sportsmanship

• Managing emotions and impulse control

• Learning to deal with losses

Many young chess students enjoy teaching siblings, parents and friends how to play the game.

Academic Benefits of Chess

Over the past few decades, social scientists have researched the effects of chess education on kids in various capacities. Numerous studies have shown that learning chess can increase students’ cognition, problem solving, and creative thinking, as well as raise their test scores. 

One multi-year study of a school chess club in New Mexico showed that students who received one hour a week of chess instruction saw improvements in their math scores, while students who participated in tournaments scored significantly higher than their non-chess playing peers on both math and reading assessments. Chess can also develop students’ critical thinking skills and memory recall. 

The process of learning chess loosely follows the steps of the scientific method:

• Observations and Research: We learn how to play the game and study the essentials of strong gameplay like opening principles, tactics, checkmating patterns, and piece defense. 

• Hypothesis: Using what we’ve learned, we come up with ideas of how to win our games. This may mean something as simple as castling our king, or utilizing a particular opening.

• Experiment: We play games to test our skills and knowledge.

• Data analysis: Whether we win or lose, we look back at the results of our games and examine what went right and what went wrong. Analyzing games–be it our own or another player’s–is one of the best ways to improve at chess.

• Conclusions: Based on our game analysis, we figure out what we need to do to perform better in the future. 

• Communication: We discuss our conclusions with our coach, who helps guide us in the right direction.

Social and Emotional Benefits of Chess

In addition to the educational advantages it offers, chess study provides social and emotional advantages as well. A study of students in the Canary Islands found that participation in a chess club provides more intellectual and socio-emotional benefits for children than other popular activities like soccer or basketball. Teachers who participated in a five-year study on the benefits of including chess in classroom instruction reported that 81% of their students benefited socially from discussing and playing the game with their peers. 

Bonding over a shared interest like chess can forge friendships and help children connect with their classmates.

Casual chess games offer students who may not typically cross paths with one another a chance to interact and form bonds over their mutual interest in the sport. We see a lot of this with our online Academy Program students, who often meet kids from other parts of the country–and sometimes even other parts of the world!–in their weekly classes and friendly tournaments.

Sportsmanship in Chess

Another element of chess study that provides major benefits to young learners is the importance it places on the practice of good sportsmanship, which is essential to continued participation in the game. Coaches in our academy program constantly reinforce the need to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. Your child will learn to play in a positive, supportive environment 

As chess is traditionally played silently, with taunting or rushing of opponents universally considered unacceptable, consistent play can help children develop patience and discipline, as well as increase their awareness of their environment and the impact of their behavior upon it. Understanding how their actions affect the atmosphere for both themselves and their opponents can help strengthen students’ respect for others and teach them humility. 

To reinforce the importance of staying humble in a competitive setting to our students, one coach often shares a quote she picked up from the father of a swimmer on the U.S. Olympic Team: 

“You don’t have to tell anyone how great you are. They’ll know it when they see it.”

Additionally, learning how to anticipate and interpret an opponent’s moves prompts students to practice putting themselves in someone else’s shoes, which further bolsters their social skills and sense of empathy. 

Fun fact: chess was officially recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee in 1999 but has yet to be included as an event at any Olympics, though the International Chess Federation–more commonly known as FIDE–did present a pair of exhibition games at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. This is the first of the two games between Alexei Shirov and Viswanathan Anand, with Shirov playing as white. Both games ended in a draw.

Managing Emotions and Impulse Control

For students who struggle with impulse control and hyperactivity, chess can be a truly transformative tool. The game’s requirement to plan ahead and weigh several options before determining the best course of action can improve focus, concentration, and help strengthen executive functioning. 

Neurodivergent students, particularly those on the autism spectrum, can benefit immensely from routine exposure to such mental and emotional demands, especially within a social setting. 

In one case, our coaches watched a student with a very low tolerance for change or disruption–one that would cause him to resign a game within five or six moves if the sequence of moves played didn’t follow his desired course of action–go from flipping the chess board and bursting into tears over any deviation from his expectations to thinking on his feet and accepting his losses with grace. 

Working with patient, understanding coaches who approach adversity with kindness and compassion can help students learn how to process the difficult emotions that threaten to stall their progress and turn those bad feelings into competitive motivation. 

Like many of his peers, that student often struggled to feel like he could think well or perform at his best in a classroom atmosphere unless it was completely free of noise or other distractions. Students facing similar challenges often find online chess lessons to be a great way to participate in a group activity with their peers without risking the chance of overstimulation that can often come with in-person sports or clubs.

Dealing With Losses

Every chess player’s least favorite part of the game – losing – actually provides some of its most valuable benefits. A major component of growth as a player, from first-timers all the way up to the professional level, is an ability (and willingness) to learn from one’s mistakes. Younger players often find this the most difficult element of chess to handle; repeated losses can lead to frustration and despair, particularly when the mistakes that led to each loss aren't easily recognized or understood.

Improving at chess involves a lot of failure, and guided study of the game can help children learn to see failure as an opportunity for growth instead of a personal shortcoming.

Under the guidance of a seasoned coach, your child will learn how to take the sting out of their losses and process them in a productive way, which fosters the development of coping skills, strengthens their ability to self-regulate their emotions, and teaches them how to view disappointments as opportunities for improvement rather than personal failures. Learning how to identify and make sense of their own missteps will also help your child to take more responsibility for their actions. The solution-oriented mindset this type of training can foster is a valuable skill that translates to productive, positive thinking in every arena of life and sets children up for success far beyond the boundaries of a chess board. 

Which specific gains a student will take away from chess study may vary from kid to kid, but every learner will experience its benefits in some form, usually in a number of ways. If you’re interested in finding out how learning chess could help your child, try out an in-person club near you or register for a commitment-free $5 trial class with our online Academy.