Does Chess Make You Smarter?
Gina Damron writes in the Oakland County Free Press (links below) about a group of 3rd graders that have chess-playing as part of their school curriculum. According to the article, and testimonials from the participating teacher and 9-year olds, learning and playing chess has made them better at not just math, but has also improved their attention spans.
I would hazard a guess that playing chess also develops IQ and builds a mind that can strategize. To those of us that play chess, this should come as a no surprise. (Have you ever heard of a stupid chess player?)
I know that as a former hyperactive kid, chess gave me some discipline, even when my brother and I played "atomic speed chess" as a kids, with the intent of capturing as many opposing pieces as fast as possible, and with the minimum of strategy.
Being forced to think several moves ahead in your mind builds the ability to consider not only your options, but the consequences of your actions. In other words, chess players develop analytic minds. That this results in a better attention span is a bonus.
All this warrants the question: does playing chess require an initially bright mind, or can bright minds be made by playing chess or other strategy games such as go/ gomoku, checkers, or chinese checkers? I've always believed in the latter (because of tabula rasa), and I think that this school program shows some concrete proof of this.
If you are a parent with young children, consider teaching them any of the strategy games mentioned above, as early in their life as possible. Play for fun, even if you yourself are not good at the game. Then let them decide on their own, later in their life, if they want to continue. Child prodigies are that because they started early, while their minds were still developing.
Links: Chess strategies sharpen study skills.
(c) Copyright: 2006-present, Raj Kumar Dash, http://getyergameon.blogspot.com/
Technorati Tags: games, strategy games, chess, analytic games
"Chess is making me better at math," the 9-year-old said. "It just kind of makes me think more."
I would hazard a guess that playing chess also develops IQ and builds a mind that can strategize. To those of us that play chess, this should come as a no surprise. (Have you ever heard of a stupid chess player?)
I know that as a former hyperactive kid, chess gave me some discipline, even when my brother and I played "atomic speed chess" as a kids, with the intent of capturing as many opposing pieces as fast as possible, and with the minimum of strategy.
Being forced to think several moves ahead in your mind builds the ability to consider not only your options, but the consequences of your actions. In other words, chess players develop analytic minds. That this results in a better attention span is a bonus.
All this warrants the question: does playing chess require an initially bright mind, or can bright minds be made by playing chess or other strategy games such as go/ gomoku, checkers, or chinese checkers? I've always believed in the latter (because of tabula rasa), and I think that this school program shows some concrete proof of this.
If you are a parent with young children, consider teaching them any of the strategy games mentioned above, as early in their life as possible. Play for fun, even if you yourself are not good at the game. Then let them decide on their own, later in their life, if they want to continue. Child prodigies are that because they started early, while their minds were still developing.
Links: Chess strategies sharpen study skills.
(c) Copyright: 2006-present, Raj Kumar Dash, http://getyergameon.blogspot.com/
Technorati Tags: games, strategy games, chess, analytic games
posted by blogslinger at 11:34 PM
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