Chess for Children

“Life is a kind of Chess, with struggle, competition, good and ill events”

Benjamin Franklin

This is the fifth in a series of entries on games for children. It concerns one of the great games of the world, Chess. Click here for an introduction to the history, rules, strategy and tactics.

Chess is a game that we have successfully taught to older primary children. The rules are simple enough that children in grade three can master them in two to three periods of instruction.

All games have some mathematical value. There have been many studies in recent years about the numerous the cognitive benefits of learning Chess. If you do a web search, you will find numerous entries and citations in this regard, so we won't bother doing this for you. Chess is easy to learn but difficult to master. There are numerous books on the subject. If you look in the children's section of your local library or bookstore, you will find books on this game for children.

Chess is a game that has numerous applications for mathematical thinking. In Canada, there is an association that promotes the game entitled, Chess'n Math Association. They claim that it teaches : "problem-solving from start to finish. It forces you to look ahead and anticipate. Skills we all need to succeed in life." If you want to teach the game, it is worth visiting and looking around. Follow the many useful links.

There is an organization in New York City called Chess in the Schools. They claim numerous benefits for Chess. For example:

"In 1991 and 1996, Stuart M. Margulies, Ph.D., a noted educational psychologist, conducted two studies examining the effects of chess on children’s reading scores. The studies demonstrated that students who participated in the chess program showed improved scores on standardized tests. The gains were even greater among children with low or average initial scores. Children who were in the non-chess playing control group showed no gains."

Almost every country in the world has a Chess federation. Since we live in Canada, we will link to the Canadian version. It is available in French and English. It provides a free training manual for teachers in pdf format that can be downloaded. Click here for the link.

Chess is a subject of great fascination for mathematicians. Many have tried to write a program that can beat the best chess players in the world, in the same way that the Chinook program at the University of Calgary has mastered the game of Checkers. Perhaps the most successful attempt has been the Deep Blue program developed by IBM which had considerable success against the famous Chess Grand Master, Garry Kasparov.

As with Checkers, there are Chess problems which would serve as a good way to study the game if there were no other players available, and these multi step problems serve as an excellent source of enrichment for gifted students. Here is one site, with hints, called Bruno's Chess Problem of the Day. There are other sites for problems on the web, and one can buy books of these in virtually any bookstore.

Like many of the other games mentioned in this blog, inexpensive versions are available in many stores. If you are on a budget, check your local second-hand stores or dollar stores. In a pinch, you can make a set out of paper or other easily available materials. There are Chess clubs in most major cities, and it is easy to form one in your school.

As with most games, there are online versions such as Yahoo Games just to name one, and inexpensive software or freeware versions available to download or purchase. Check online or at your local computer store.