Why contribute your hard-earned money to teach chess to kids?

Because chess accelerates academic performance. 

Academic research and educator observations substantiate chess as a catalyst in fostering academic excellence.  The following fourteen paragraphs are extracted from “Teacher Guide: Research and the Benefits of Chess” by Dr. Robert C. Ferguson.

In 1998 James Liptrap evaluated the performance in four Klein ISD elementary schools of chess club students with a control group that did not play chess.  Regular (non-honors) elementary students who participated in school chess clubs showed twice the improvement of non-chess players in reading and mathematics between third and fifth grades on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills.[1]

The article "Chess Improves Academic Performance'' from the NY School Chess Program concluded that the reading and math skills of children involved in chess “soared.”[2]

In December 1996, Arman Tajarobi of Ontario, Canada wrote: "For the past three years, I've been a witness to an experiment held in 24 elementary schools in my town: The school board allowed these schools to replace an hour of math classes by a chess course each week for half of their students. For three consecutive years, the groups who received the chess formation have had better results in math than those who did not. This year (the fourth year), the school board has allowed any school that wants to provide its students with a chess formation to do so.''[3]

Principal Cheryl Coles of Public School 68 in the Bronx reported that standardized scores increased 11.2% in reading and 18.6% in math during the 1994-95 school year.[4]

In a 1977-1979 study at the Chinese University in Hong Kong by Dr. Yee Wang Fung, scholastic chess players showed a 15% improvement in math and science test scores.[5]

The mathematics curriculum in New Brunswick, Canada is a text series called Challenging Mathematics, which uses chess to teach logic and problem solving from grades 2 to 7. Using this curriculum, the average problem-solving score of pupils in the province increased from 62% to 81%. (40)  The Province of Quebec, where the program was first introduced, has the highest math grades in Canada, and Canada scores better than the USA on international mathematics exams.[6]    

Dr. Calvin F. Deyermond, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for the North Tonawanda (NY) City School District, noted: “(Chess) attracts not only gifted pupils but also students at all levels of learning. Many students who have been experiencing problems, particularly in mathematics and reading, sometimes demonstrate remarkable progress after learning chess.''[7] 

A 1990-92 study using a sub-set of the New York City Schools Chess Program produced statistically significant results concluding that chess participation enhances reading performance.[8] 

Dr. Stuart Margulies conducted an experiment in the New York City SchoolSystem during the 1995-1996 school year.  Two classrooms were selected in each of five schools. 112 Students were given instruction in chess and reasoning in one classroom in each school. The teachers in the other (control) classrooms used the time for general instruction, including reading.  Nevertheless, pupils in the chess program obtained significantly higher reading scores at the end of the year. Therefore, the gains in the chess groups were particularly impressive.[9] 

According to a two-year study in Moldova under the supervision of N.F. Talisina, grades for young students taking part in the chess experiment increased in all subjects. Teachers noted improvement in memory, better organizational skills, and for many increased fantasy and imagination (Education Ministry of the Moldavian Republic, 1985).[10]

In a 1974-1976 Belgian study, a chess-playing experimental group of fifth graders experienced a statistically significant gain in cognitive development over a control group, using Piaget's tests for cognitive development. Perhaps more noteworthy, they also did significantly better in their regular school testing, as well as in standardized testing administered by an outside agency which did not know the identity of the two groups. Quoting Dr. Adriaan de Groot: “The Belgium study appears to demonstrate that the treatment of the elementary, clear-cut and playful subject matter can have a positive effect on motivation and school achievement generally.”[11]  

In a 1973-74 Zaire study conducted by Dr. Albert Frank, employing 92 students, age 16-18, the chess-playing experimental group showed a significant advancement in spatial, numerical and administrative-directional abilities, along with verbal aptitudes, compared to the control group. The improvements held true regardless of the final chess skill level attained.[12] 

A four-year study (1979-1983) in Pennsylvania found that the chess-playing experimental group consistently outperformed the control groups engaged in thinking development programs, using measurements from the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking.[13]

Dr. Hans Klaus, Dean of the School of Philosophy at Humboldt University in Berlin, commented upon the chess studies completed in Germany: “Chess helps any human being to elaborate exact methods of thinking. It would be particularly useful to start playing chess from the early school days ... Everybody prefers to learn something while playing rather than to learn it formally…it produces in our children an improvement in their school achievements. Those children who received systematic instructions in chess improved their school efficiency in different subjects, in contrast with those who did not receive that kind of instruction.''[14]

Because chess teaches very important life skills.  

 Chess develops a student’s ability to concentrate.  Nothing that a student will ever do in an academic setting demands the degree of concentration required by two evenly matched opponents in the final round of a tournament vying for the first place trophy.

 Chess demands patience.  New players have a delightful sense of adventure and will play too quickly; e.g., “I wonder what will happen if I move my piece here.”  Among novice players, the player who makes the fewest blunders wins, so the predominant goal of improving a novice player is increasing his/herpatience; taking more and more time to look ahead, to consider multiple options.  At scholastic tournaments, about 30 minutes into a round (one hour time limit), the novice tables are almost empty because players have finished their games, while the expert tables are mostly full with games still in progress.

Chess teaches impulse control – a very important personal characteristic for youngsters and a crucial educational objective.  In chess, an ill-considered move is usually swiftly “punished” but in a safe environment without real life consequences (except perhaps a glancing blow to one’s self esteem).

Chess demands persistence.  All chess players, even the most intelligent, begin play by losing significantly more than they win.  Notwithstanding good coaching and individual tutoring, losing is the most effective teacher and motivator.  As skill improves, players are paired in tournaments against players of approximately equal skill.  Winning remains a challenge.  Like life, success comes with time and persistence.

Chess facilitates social interaction.  Players engage with their teammates, and they also interact with others outside their familiar neighborhood, school and peer groups.  A Houston area scholastic chess tournament is like a junior United Nations conference.  St. Peter the Apostle students play against other students from the full panoply of diverse communities representing Houston’s rich and vibrant cultural milieu.  Good sportsmanship prevails. Many engage in “fun games” between tournament rounds.  Interscholastic friendships develop from tournament to tournament, and year after year. 

St. Peter the Apostle School has a long tradition of athletic prowess.  Scholastic athletes are admired by their peers.  Chess gives students who are not competitive in sports an opportunity to excel on a team and earn peer esteem, a critical element in maturation among youngsters.  At St. Peter’s, it’s “cool” to be on the chess team.

The following fifteen paragraphs attest to life skill development attributed to chess by scholars and educators.

The 1979-1983 Venezuela “Learning to Think Project,'' involved a sample of 4,266 second grade students, reached a general conclusion that chess, methodologically taught, is an incentive system sufficient to accelerate the increase of IQ in elementary age children of both sexes at all socio-economic levels.[15]  Researchers and educators have questioned what causes this growth. The Venezuelan study claimed: “Chess develops a new form of thinking, and this exercise is what contributes to increase the intelligence quotient.''[16]  More recent researchers speculate that it is the growth of new synaptic connections. Could chess promote the growth of dendrites?  Dr. Stefurak, a cognitive neuropsychologist, stated that “Chess instruction informs the mind and the emotions in such a way as to structure an emergent mental circuit where motivation and ability multiply to produce achievement in chess and school and life.''[17]

The article “Chess Improves Academic Performance'' from the NY School Chess Program features a number of testimonies from school principals, including: “… (chess players’) ability to socialize has increased substantially.. Our studies have shown that incidents of suspension and outside altercations have decreased by at least 60% since these children became interested in chess.''[18] 

John Artise (B.S., M.A.) draws upon his years of psychological research in chess to identify the contribution chess makes in education and learning. He identifies four areas of growth: memory improvement, logic, observation and analysis, and operant conditioning.  “Chess and Education,'' John Artise.[19]

Principal Cheryl Coles, PS 86, Brooklyn, NY) wrote of the Chess Education Program in Public School 86 (Brooklyn, NY), “There were significant outgrowths in varying degrees in all curriculum areas, such as:  increased enthusiasm for learning, increase in general fund of knowledge, increase in pupil attendance, increase in self-confidence, increase in parent involvement, etc.''[20]]

Researcher William Levy of the New Jersey State Department of Education found that chess consistently (1980-1987) promoted self-esteem after a year of exposure. Many students' self-images improved dramatically.[21]

During the 1987-88 “Development of Reasoning and Memory through Chess,'' all students in a rural Pennsylvania sixth grade self-contained classroom were required to participate in chess lessons and play games. None of the pupils had previously played chess. The pupils significantly improved in both memory and verbal reasoning. The effect of the magnitude of the results is strong (eta 2 is .715 for the Memory test gain compared to the Norm). These results suggest that transfer of the skills fostered through the chess curriculum did occur.[22] 

“Not only have the reading and math skills of these children soared, their ability to socialize has increased substantially, too. Our studies have shown the incidents of suspension and outside altercations have decreased by at least 60 percent since these children became interested in chess.'' --Assistant Principal Joyce Brown at the Roberto Clemente School in New York, 1988[23]

“It's the finest thing that ever happened to this school. ...Chess makes a difference...What it has done for these children is simply beyond anything that I can describe.  I see them (students) able to attend to something for more than an hour and a half. I am stunned. Some of them could not attend to things for more than 20 minutes.'' -- Jo Bruno, Principal, P.S. 189[24] 

Dr. Calvin F. Deyermond, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for the North Tonawanda (NY) City School District, wrote: “Chess develops intellectual, esthetic, sporting, decision making, concentration, and perseverance skills. We have seen the effects of this wonderful game in our classroom and as an extracurricular activity.”[25]

Teacher Rob Roy of Connecticut: “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.”[26] 

Beulah McMeans, a guidance counselor at Morningside Elementary School in Prince George's County, MD, uses chess “to help raise the self-esteem and higher order thinking skills for young students, particularly those at risk.''[27] 

Fred Nagler, Principal, New York City P.S. 123 weighed in.   “Intuitively, I feel what the kids learn from chess carries over to their everyday lives. The change shows up in their improved critical thinking and problem solving. It gets kids to think for themselves.''[28]

Andrew Rozsa, psychologist, speaking of his gifted son, remarks:, “He has had real social and behavioral difficulties since he was 18 months old... He was thrown out of several schools... Things became pretty bad at about age 9 ... Nothing seemed to work, nothing. ... Today he is a straight A student and his behavior problems are minimal (but not trivial). ... Sorry, no control subjects, no double blind, no defined independent variables (actually there are two: chess and age).  Nonetheless, I think that the great improvements we have seen are, to a large extent, due to chess.''[29] 

The San Jose Mercury News reports that the chess program funded by the Oakland (California) Youth at Risk program proves to be an effective vehicle for saving troubled youth.[30]

Investigative Reporter Jo Caudert finds that the chess program in the troubled East Harlem district, New York, rescues kids from drugs and gangs.[31]

While not an authority or educator, a Saratoga Springs, NY newspaper editorial comments insightfully: “Chess is the last best hope for this country to rescue its skidding educational system and teach the young generation the forgotten art of nurturing an attention span.''[32]

[1] James Liptrap, ``Chess and Standardized Test Scores,'' Chess Coach Newsletter, Spring 1999, Volume 11

[2] Chess Improves Academic Performance, Christine Palm, 1990

[3] Arman Tajarobi, e-mail from December, 1996

[4] Personal letter to Allen Kaufman from Principal Cheryl Coles, June 9, 1995.

[5] Donna Nurse, ``Chess & Math Add Up,'' Teach, May/June 1995, p. 15, cites Yee Wang Fung's research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong

[6] Louise Gaudreau, ``Etude Comparative sur les Apprentissages en Mathématiques 5e Année,'' a study comparing the Challenging Mathematics curriculum to traditional math, 1992.

[7] Personal letter from Dr. Calvin F. Deyermond, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for the North Tonawanda City School District.

[8] Kathleen Vail, ``Check This, Mate: Chess Moves Kids,'' The American School Board Journal, September 1995, pp. 38-40.

[9] Stuart Margulies, ``The Effect of Chess on Reading Scores,'' 1996

[10] Isaac Linder, ``Chess, a Subject Taught at School,'' Sputnik: Digest of the Soviet Press, June 1990, pp. 164-166.

[11] Isaac Linder, ``Chess, a Subject Taught at School,'' Sputnik: Digest of the Soviet Press, June 1990, pp. 164-166.

[12] Albert Frank, ``Chess and Aptitudes,'' doctoral dissertation, 1974, translated by Stanley Epstein.

[13] Robert Ferguson, ``Teaching the Fourth R (Reasoning) through Chess,'' School Mates, 1(1), 1983, p. 3.

[14]Naciso Rabell Mendez, ``Report by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) to the United Nations Organization (UNO),'' June 1988, quotes Dr. Klaus' comments.

[15] Rafael Tudela, ``Learning to Think Project,'' Commission for Chess in Schools, 1984, Annex pp. 1-2.

[16] Rafael Tudela, ``Intelligence and Chess,'' 1984.

[17] Kathleen Vail, ``Check This, Mate: Chess Moves Kids,'' The American School Board Journal, September 1995, pp. 38-40.

[18] Chess Improves Academic Performance, Christine Palm, 1990.

[19] John Artise, ``Chess and Education.''

[20] Personal letter to Allen Kaufman from Principal Cheryl Coles, June 9, 1995.

[21] William Levy, ``Utilizing Chess to Promote Self-Esteem in Perceptually Impaired Students,'' a governor's teacher grant program through the New Jersey State Department of Education, 1987.

[22] Robert Ferguson, ``Development of Reasoning and Memory through Chess,'' 1988

[23] Roger Langen, ``Putting a Check to Poor Math Results,'' The Reporter, December 1992.

[24] Chess Improves Academic Performance, Christine Palm, 1990

[25] Personal letter from Dr. Calvin F. Deyermond, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for the North Tonawanda City School District.

[26]  “Check Mates,'' Fairfield County Advocate, Mar. 20, 1989.

[27] Carol Chmelynski, ``Chess said to promote school performance and self-esteem,'' School Board News, July 6, 1993, Vol. 13 (12), pp. 7-8.

[28] Chess Improves Academic Performance, Christine Palm, 1990

[29] Andrew J. Rozsa, Birmingham, Alabama, Newsgroup e-mail.

[30] San Jose Mercury News, 4-3-96.

[31] Jo Coudert, ``From Street Kids to Royal Knights,'' Readers Digest, June 1989

[32] Editorial: “Chess gives hope for our youth,'' The Saratogan, March 12, 1991