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If you’re serious about helping your child get ahead in academics and life, help in developing her/his interest in chess. Chess is just not a game, but a means to teach a kid valuable life skills that will set them up for future success. Hence, there are numerous benefits of playing chess.
In chess, every move has a purpose and effect on the outcome of the game. Since making decisions while playing chess is so similar to the process we go throughout our own lives, isn’t it reasonable to conclude that chess can teach us critically important life skills? Let’s see how chess is related to real-life situations?
Benefits Of Playing Chess
These are 10 benefits of playing chess.
1. Problem Solving
Learning problem-solving techniques is one of the benefits of playing chess. A game of chess requires one to think, process, plan, and execute. Studies have demonstrated that when integrating chess games into the traditional mathematical curriculum, students scored significantly higher marks on problem-solving tests.
Chess is quite similar to a large puzzle. In order to “solve” a chess game, one must use problem-solving skills to decide which pieces they should move to yield the best result.
2. Calmness Under Pressure
One of the most important benefits of playing chess is the ability to stay calm under pressure. While playing chess you have to be intensely focused, while at the same time remaining calm so that your brain can work to its maximum. This is similar to situations we all face in the real-world with deadlines, presentations, interviews throughout life.
3. Sportsmanship
Another important benefit of playing chess is that it enhances our sense of sportsmanship and improves the way we treat one another. It may seem that how a game like chess could do anything to promote social development. Chess is a game that is usually played in silence, with bare minimum interaction between the players during the play. It is, however, these very conventions and demonstrations of etiquette that build a culture of sportsmanship.
4. Creative Thinking
In order to defeat an opponent, a chess player must be a creative thinker. During each game, you need to imagine what will happen with each possible move on the board and then quickly come up with new strategies immediately.
Learning how to use creative thinking skills in real-world scenarios helps kids become better problem solvers in their everyday life which clearly makes it one of the sought benefits of playing chess.
5. Spatial Understanding
Thinking a few steps ahead is always a good strategy when playing chess. However, in order to do this, you must visualize the changing composition of the board, step by step, without moving a single chess piece. Generating and retaining multiple spatial combinations in your mind at once takes a lot of practice, but is a great skill when needing to compare several options.
6. Working Hard
In the game of chess, children learn the value of working hard from the beginning tactics to more advanced strategies. They will learn that through intense study and long hours of practice they will be able to succeed at winning in competition. These strategies come in handy for your child when they are in school, and throughout their lives, they learn that through hard work and persistence they will succeed.
7. Fair Play
Playing the game of chess also helps children learn fair play, this is very important in the child’s later years making them more likely to grow up and treat others fairly, and to be respectful of others’ feelings.
In addition, to be fair they learn how to treat others equally. They play against children of all races, genders, and many different ages. They will discover that everyone who plays chess has an equal opportunity to be the winners of the game. They also learn to play the game by the rules and they know that everyone will have the exact same rules.
8. Decision Making & Time Management
In chess tournaments, clocks are used to time each player’s turn, and to ensure that no single player takes advantage of their turn by purposely prolonging the game. When learning to play chess, it’s important that moves are thoughtfully planned, but taking too much time can sometimes overthink their moves and change their mind, resulting in mistakes that could have been avoided. Similarly, in real life also, people often get stuck when giving an important decision.
By playing chess, your child can learn to avoid overthinking and learn to make important choices under given time constraints. Learning to properly manage time and act when needed is vital to a successful future.
9. Concentration and Stamina
Chess improves concentration (mental stamina and endurance) and visualization skills. In chess you are focused on one main goal, to checkmate the other player. A lack of concentration on just one move can turn a winning game into a loss.
10. Learning From Mistakes and Failures
Learning from failure is one of the most important life lessons everyone needs to learn. Even when your child’s gameplay decisions result in a setback or loss, it creates an opportunity for growth. By playing chess, kids learn to accept defeat and to learn from their mistakes to improve their strategy in future games.
Similarly while navigating life, your child will learn to deal with failure constructively. Whether it’s about scoring less in a test in school or losing a promotion at work, kids who learn to manage their losses will understand how to pick themselves up, and bounce back no matter what the situation is.
Recommended Reading
- 20 Most Famous Women Chess Grandmasters
- 20 Most Famous Chess Grandmasters
- 20 Most Famous Indian Chess Players
Quiz on Chess
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