The Benefits of Chess
Let’s talk about chess. Why, you may ask? Well, on a personal note, my oldest child (and to a lesser extent, my younger two) have become very interested in playing chess over the past couple of years, and have participated in a whole variety of chess tournaments (which incidentally, can be torturously boring for the parents) (consider yourselves warned).
But on the upshot, it seems there are lots of educational and developmental benefits to kids when they play chess. Check out some links if you’re interested in learning more about this subject:
From a website called “Snotty Noses”: https://snotty-noses.com/blog/chess-children
And from “Connections Academy”: http://blog.connectionsacademy.com/playing-smart-the-benefits-of-chess-for-kids/
And one more, this time from Parents.com: http://www.parents.com/kids/development/intellectual/benefits-of-chess/
So what does playing chess do? It turns out that it helps children learn to focus more, improves memory, develops strategy thinking, and actually also helps them perform better on standardized tests.
In a (failed) attempt to stay one step ahead of my oldest child, I signed up to take private chess lessons as well. Turns out, in addition to all these benefits, it is also a lot of fun!
Check out the websites of both SENECA (Southeast New England Chess Association) (senecachess.org) and MACA (The Massachusetts Chess Association) (http://www.masschess.org/) for upcoming children’s chess events, and the website of our family’s chess instructor (www.commonsensechess.com) for more fun ways to participate in chess today!
