Skip over main navigation
  • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
Chess in Schools and Communities
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
Donate
Menu
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Team
      • Staff
      • Trustees
    • Our Sponsors
    • Policies
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Our Ambassadors
  • Why Chess?
    • Benefits of Chess
    • Our Impact
    • Research
    • Special Educational Needs
  • Covid secure Chess
    • Covid secure Chess
    • Chess at Home
    • Sean's Blog
  • ChessKid
    • ChessKid for Schools
    • ChessKid for Parents
  • Schools
    • Your School
      • What We Do
      • Join Us
      • Parents
      • Secondary Schools
    • Projects
      • London
      • South East
      • South West
      • East Anglia
      • East Midlands
      • West Midlands
      • North East
      • North West
      • Scotland
      • Wales
      • Isle of Man
    • Chesstimonials
  • Community
    • What We Do
    • Libraries
    • Prisons
    • Older People
    • Chess in Africa
    • Junior Clubs
    • Local Authorities
  • Support Us
    • Donate
    • Pro-Biz Cup
      • Pro-Biz Cup Results
      • Pro-Biz Cup, 9 December 2020
      • Bid for the Boards
      • Pro-Biz Bios
      • Pro-Biz Amateur Bios
    • Volunteer
    • Corporate
  • Tutors
    • We Need You!
    • Training
    • Chesstimonials
    • Tutor Zone
      • Downloads
      • Training
  • Media
    • In the Media
    • What's New?
  • Admin
    • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
  • Benefits of chess
  1. Why Chess?
  2. Benefits of Chess

Benefits of chess

Chess is a universal game, knowing no boundaries of age, gender, faith, ethnicity or disability, that promotes key intellectual skills such as problem solving, logical thinking, pattern recognition and concentration. Playing chess also fosters intellectual character. Its cerebral reputation boosts self-esteem and gives children ‘grit’ – the tenacity to cope with adversity – which helps them grow into rounded and employable individuals. It does this by teaching children how to lose and how to win gracefully, to think ahead and foresee the consequences of their actions.

We aim to close the attainment gap, a major challenge of education policy: only 39% of disadvantaged children make expected progress in Key Stage 2 compared to 60% of their peers. According to the OECD, "Socio-economically disadvantaged students not only score lower … than advantaged students, they are less engaged with and at school, have less drive and motivation to learn, and hold negative self-beliefs about their ability to learn". We work entirely in the state sector, prioritising areas of deprivation, to give every child the chance to realise their full potential. Emerging research suggests a positive link between chess and academic attainment; a recent meta-study concludes that sustained exposure can have a significant impact on mathematics ability.

The State of Education Report 2017 found- "79% of Primary and Secondary school leaders thought their curriculums should include more Life Skills" The WHO defines life skills as objectives for mental health as including.

  • Problem solving and decision making skills
  • Development of critical and creative thinking skills 
  • Communication and interpersonal skills 

Chess teaches all of the above through play.

There is also growing interest in how chess can benefit the elderly, by providing opportunities to keep the mind active and to socialise. We are currently participating in a study with the University of Reading and look forward to further developments in this field.

Would you like to bring these benefits to your school or community? Are you interested in teaching chess? Find out how we can help you. 

Published: 12th September, 2017

Updated: 14th March, 2021

Author:

Share this page
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Latest

  • CSC's Prisons Coordinator - Peter Sullivan tells all

    CSC's Prisons Coordinator - Peter Sullivan tells all

    CSC's Prison's Coordinator talks about his work teaching chess in prisons

  • Pro-Biz Cup Results

  • Bid for the Boards

    Bid for the Boards

  • Pro-Biz Amateur Bios

    Pro-Biz Amateur Bios

Most read

  • We Need You!

    We Need You!

    We depend on our team of chess tutors.

  • Junior Clubs

    Junior Clubs

    Junior Chess Clubs in the UK

  • Who we are

    Who we are

    All about Chess in Schools and Communities - our mission, values and story.

  • Staff

    Staff

    Our team

  • Libraries

    Libraries

    How we can support chess in your library

  • What We Do

    What We Do

    Why chess will help your pupils, and how we can help.

  • Benefits of chess

    Benefits of chess

    Why learn chess?

  • Newham

    Newham

  • Volunteer

    Volunteer

    We are seeking enthusiastic people, with patience, to help children learn to play chess.

  • In the Media

    In the Media

Sign up for our newsletter

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter your email address Please enter a valid email address (e.g. [email protected])
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • Login
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Accessibility
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales under number 7017640 and registered as a Charity number 1133120

Registered office 44 Baker Street, London, W1U 7RT