Chess Makes You Smarter!

Have you heard that a wooden chess set or an electronic chess game can actually make your child smarter? The truth is, playing the "game of kings" will make you smarter, too!

Mastering chess causes us to become smarter, and observations along with research in academia, and day-to-day life in general, prove this. It doesn't have to be played using a wooden chess set, either--it's quite simply that a well-made wooden chess set gives a creative and artistic angle to the delightful experience of playing this historically royal, aristocratic game. Regardless of whether chess is played on a traditional chess set or an electronic chess game--it will cause the consistent participant of the game become smarter.

Children who engage in chess learn to expand their decision-making, analytical, and synthesizing mental competencies which transfer to all areas of their day-to-day lives. So when they learn how to employ thorough and deep chess research, they develop their self-confidence in their competence for doing academic analysis--which particularly becomes apparent in higher mathematics and reading comprehension test scores. Kids today often have inadequate attention spans, and a declining educational system doesn't help this problem at all. However, actively playing chess has been proven to aid in reversing this attention deficit and teach today's youth the lost arts of focus and mental discipline. Chess also trains children to understand and appreciate healthy competition.

Even students with special challenges can learn how to play chess. One educator taught a highly effective course for emotionally and educationally disadvantaged children and used chess as a way for them to acquire and exercise self-control. It was like turning on switches inside their brains. You could see the child considering a problem, breaking it down, and then putting the entire thing back together. The process involves recall, examination, judgment, and abstract reasoning.As outlined by D. Calvin F. Deyermond, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction at the North Tonawanda City School District, "Chess develops intellectual, aesthetic, sporting, decision making, concentration, and perseverance capabilities...Not only is it mentally demanding, the game draws in not only gifted pupils but also students at all levels of learning. Many students who've been experiencing problems, particularly in mathematics and reading, often times demonstrate exceptional progress after learning chess."

A wooden chess set or an electronic chess device, therefore, could be the very best gifts you are able to share with your children. Sit down with them, have fun playing chess with them, and engage their minds. You, too, as an parent, can enhance your own cognitive skills and self-confidence with chess. These are the reasons it's "the game of kings".

Chess and Education

How can chess make your children smarter? It is well-documented that children who play chess have improved cognitive abilities, including improved analytical thought and decision making abilities. So, why aren't we teaching chess in our schools?

In an article from the Fairfield County Advocate in Connecticut, Rob Roy observed "Children with special problems can also learn chess. I taught a successful course for emotionally and educationally disadvantaged children in the Waterbury schools and used chess as a way for them to learn and practice self-control. It was like turning on switches in their heads. You see the child looking at a problem, breaking it down, and then putting the whole thing back together. The process involves recall, analysis, judgment, and abstract reasoning."

I truly believe that chess should be taught in our schools, or at least offered as an after school activity for the students. As a parent, why wouldn't we give our children every opportunity to improve their minds and gain self confidence?

Why Chess Is Good For You

Not only does playing chess make you smarter, chess is also representative of how responsible people live their lives. A good chess player will plan ahead, analyze situations, make sound decisions, and hopefully yield success! According to Susan Polgar, a four-time World Chess Champion and the founder of the Susan Polgar Foundation, "Chess is in many ways like life itself. It's all condensed in a playful manner in a game format and it's extremely fascinating because first of all I'm in control of my own destiny, I'm in charge. You have to be responsible for your actions; you make a move, you had better think ahead about what's going to happen, not after it happens, because then it's too late."

We are going to explore many facets of why chess it good for you!