Corrected: A previous version of this article referenced the International Chess Federation acronym as ICF. The acronym is FIDE.
There are 25 million kids worldwide who play chess competitively, according to the International Chess Federation (FIDE). By playing this strategy board game, experts say, students are learning valuable skills that can benefit them in the classroom.
There are two ways students can benefit from playing chess: interdisciplinary, which is using the game to learn literacy or math, and transversally, which is using chess to learn critical and analytical skills, said Jerry Nash, the chairman of the chess and education commission for the International Chess Federation, an international organization responsible for overseeing chess competitions across the world. In one such FIDE competition last week, Magnus Carlsen, 34, the undisputed world chess champion for more than a decade, lost to 19-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju.
In an informal Education Week LinkedIn poll, respondents voted on which skill students strengthened the most by playing chess: strategizing came in first with 65% of the vote, followed by decisionmaking (29%), and creativity (4%).
“Chess can be the vehicle to teach these other skills,” said Nash. “It’s those other skills that the businesses value that make you successful—not just in the classroom, but beyond the classroom, for the rest of your life.”
What do teachers have to say?
Educators shared more details about their opinions on chess in the comment section of the LinkedIn poll. Below are some of their responses, edited lightly for clarity.
Overall, teachers recognize that chess can help students think critically and strategically.
Critical and analytical thinking. Cause and effect. It also teaches how to learn from losing and social skills.
While chess is a game of strategy, every time a player makes a move, they are involving the brain in the decisionmaking process. ... We use strategies to help the brain develop good problem-solving skills through repeated actions and reactions in the process of putting one’s opponent into checkmate.
How else does playing chess benefit students?
Chess teaches students of all ages important skills, said Alexey Root, a lecturer at the University of Texas at Dallas who has written eight books and taught online courses to educators about how chess can be an enrichment tool for curricula.
For the youngest children, chess can teach them how to follow rules and take turns. For older ones, it can be especially beneficial to kids who are struggling in the classroom by letting them showcase their skills like problem solving, in a non-traditional way, said Root.
“I think it’s a great way for children who may not be shining in the classroom and traditional subjects to show that they are intelligent and able to solve problems, because every new chess position is a new problem to solve,” said Root.
Chess is also an accessible activity, proponents said. It is not dependent on prior knowledge—except for how to play, which experts estimate takes about an hour to learn—or language.
“We wouldn’t expect a 10-year-old to write the great American novel, but a 10-year-old can play a great chess game,” said Root. “So often children feel inferior to adults, but that’s really not the case in chess. They can be the equals of adults, and I think that’s very empowering.”
How to use chess in the classroom
Chess can be used to hook students into a lesson and keep their attention so they learn to deeply understand a specific topic or skill, said Nash.
He said he tells teachers, “Chess can actually help you to teach skills faster with longer retention.”
For instance, students can use chess to learn coordinates during geometry class. Chess can also be used as an example in history or literature lectures. For example, the game of chess originated in India and spread to Europe, and then eventually along the Silk Road.
However, some teachers don’t incorporate chess into the classroom because they feel intimidated by the game and haven’t been shown how to use it as a tool, both experts, Root and Nash, said.
“The first thing to do is to help [teachers] realize you don’t have to be a great chess player to use chess in the classroom, and you really can learn how to play chess,” said Nash.
Teachers have already reported feeling overwhelmed by staffing shortages and intense workloads, and adding chess can feel stressful, but Nash said there are ways to incorporate chess without taking too much time.
“What we do is show them these mini games with just a few pieces on the board, and [students] can play a game in 10- or 15-minutes max, and they’re still learning these skills,” said Nash.
Additionally, Nash recommends more professional development on how to use chess in the classroom.
“Getting that training is something that’s important to teachers, especially hands-on, if they’re going to be doing it in the classroom. They want to have their hands on a chess set while they’re practicing,” said Nash.
