When most of us picture a chess match, we see two adults hunched over a black-and-white board planning their next move, or, perhaps, the strategy that will win them the game. The hand of one of the players may be raised in that frozen split second before it pounces. A specific scene from a movie, like Jeff Goldblum playing chess with Judd Hirsch in Independence Day, or, from television, like the famous 1972 match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, might start playing in our minds. 

Most of us, however, don’t picture two children facing off against each other over the same black-and-white board planning similar strategies to their adult counterparts. The truth is that is exactly what is happening in homes, schools, and chess clubs around the country. 

One reason for this is the pandemic. Across the United States, parents signed up children as young as three to take online chess lessons. As word about children’s engagement with the game spread and the availability of online lessons became known, more and more parents did the same.

Another reason is, for many children, chess lessons captivated them in a way some other activities they tried during the pandemic didn’t. Online learning was important for filling in creative, educational, and cognitive gaps created by the inability for children to go to school, do sports, and engage in other social activities normally accessed outside the home. Parents tried many options. Chess was one of those that stuck.

The trend of children playing chess hasn’t slowed down. As parents watch their children learning and playing the game, they recognize its benefits go beyond keeping them occupied and happy for a period of time. It has become clear to them, as it has to other observers, that chess can play an invaluable role in their child’s social development.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development is the development of knowledge, problem-solving, and disposition. It helps children consider and understand the information they receive from the world around them. Brain development is a large part of cognitive development. 

When children play chess, they use both sides of their brain equally, thus stimulating the reasoning and the creative side. According to King’s Blog, “Chess has also been shown to aid the development of the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that is responsible for planning, judgment and self-control.”

Problem-solving, a minute-by-minute task in the ever-changing arena of a chess game, is a crucial skill that we must all develop in order to progress in life. It is also indispensable when doing math. According to a 1992 Canadian study, young children who had taken chess lessons did better in problem-solving tests than those who hadn’t.

Chess also helps children learn how to stay calm when under pressure. The pressures in a game of chess are many: their opponent’s abilities; time constraints; their expectations for themselves. As these build, it is imperative for them to remain calm in order to make strategic decisions. When they become able to do this while playing chess, they become able to do it when facing real-life pressures.

Personal Skills Development
As children gradually learn the moves and complexities of chess and play games with other children, their confidence increases. Not only do they become better players, they become better able to face other challenges with similar confidence.

Also, as children play more games of chess, their ability to accept losses and wins with grace increases. Everyone wants to be a winner. That’s normal. However, we can’t all be winners all the time. That’s normal, too. In any game of chess, if it is seen through to the end, there will be a winner and a loser. It is important for children to learn this not only about chess, but about life, and accept their losses along with their wins.

Playing chess in tournaments allows children to interact with other children of varying ages and backgrounds. If they are part of a team playing in a tournament, they develop team spirit and sportsmanship. Such opportunities increase their social skills and open their world to different cultures, ways of thinking, and the notion of fair play.

The benefits of chess on a child’s social development are many. As well as opening their minds intellectually, it opens them creatively. The problem-solving strategies children learn from chess help them with real-world and math problems. Playing chess with other children improves their interpersonal skills and teaches them to be accepting of losing as well as winning. Of course, children don’t realize this while they’re playing chess. They’re having too much fun. And isn’t that, when all is said and done, the greatest benefit of all?