CHESS IN SCHOOL

For a starter, consider this statement; The State of New Jersey passed a bill legitimizing chess as a unit of instruction within the elementary school curriculum. A quote from the bill states "In countries where chess is offered widely in schools, students exhibit excellence in the ability to recognize complex patterns and consequently excel in math and science..."

A research conducted in Russia indicated that, after a considerable amount of educational research in elementary schools found that experimental groups of children who learn chess in a formal, systematized way in school perform better in math and science than aged-matched control groups.

One of my chinese friend in Sibu, Sarawak said to me that he had learned Chinese Chess or Xiangqi in his school as a part of the curriculum. By playing chess, he has improved his mind concentration and focus.

According to Jerry Meyers, a chessmaster and scholastic Director for the Pittsburgh Chess Club, playing chess will improve overall academic performance by teaching the following skills:

• Focusing • Children are taught the benefits of observing carefully and concentrating. If they don't watch what is happening, they can't respond to it, no matter how smart they are.
  
  
• Visualizing • Children are prompted to imagine a sequence of actions before it happens. We actually strengthen the ability to visualize by training them to shift the pieces in their mind, first one, then several moves ahead.
  
  
• Thinking Ahead • Children are taught to think first, then act. We teach them to ask themselves “If I do this, what might happen then, and how can I respond?” Over time, chess helps develop patience and thoughtfulness.
  
  
• Weighing Options • Children are taught that they don't have to do the first thing that pops into their mind. They learn to identify alternatives and consider the pros and cons of various actions.
  
  
• Analyzing Concretely • Children learn to evaluate the results of specific actions and sequences. Does this sequence help me or hurt me? Decisions are better when guided by logic, rather than impulse.
  
  
• Thinking Abstractly • Children are taught to step back periodically from details and consider the bigger picture. They also learn to take patterns used in one context and apply them to different, but related situations.
  
  
• Planning • Children are taught to develop longer range goals and take steps toward bringing them about. They are also taught of the need to reevaluate their plans as new developments change the situation.
  
  
• Juggling Multiple Considerations Simultaneously - Children are encouraged not to become overly absorbed in any one consideration, but to try to weigh various factors all at once.
  

With all the benefits and excitement of playing chess, why don't we promote this game in school at early stage and put it in the curriculum as a part of education. I strongly believe it will play a major role in early childhood education development.