Is Chess Good For Children
Children should be taught to play chess early in life because the game can affect their mental and psychological habits favorably.
First of all, chess has been shown by studies to improve both the intelligence and the emotional quotient of children. The ability of children to grasp details of problems is enhanced when they play chess. As a result of this deeper understanding, children learn how to arrive at solutions of problematic situations. At the same time, the self-assurance that comes with solving problems removes many inhibitions that may hamper interacting with their peers.
Chess, when played with any amount of seriousness, is an excellent motivator for facing challenges. Eventually this develops in the child a resilience of character that will prevent him from being discouraged by initial failure and give him the resolution to pursue goals.
An under-achiever is most often simply a person whose thinking process has not been developed or has been stunted for some reason or another. Children who play chess will be forced to set those little cogs and wheels in the brain revolving properly.
Playing chess is also excellent for developing the attitude of willingness to answer to one’s actions. A sense of responsibility grows in children as a result of frequently playing this game.
Another personal trait that chess develops is proficiency in responding correctly to issues arising from one’s environment. This applies to problem solving as equally as it does to sustaining activities such as good relationships.
Concentration and analytical power are two other things that children who play chess can develop.
Along with a sense of responsibility, being methodical and disciplined are two good traits that playing chess can teach a child, This is due to the extreme economy that should characterize the way chess is played. There are no superfluous elements in the game, to begin with and losing a piece is always significant to the chance of winning or losing the game.
Because of the need to empathize with the opponent, children who play chess nurture their self-awareness or the ability to refer to their own psychology to guess what other people might be planning to do. This is something one needs to do quite frequently in real life.
Visual intelligence is also developed by playing chess. This is what we refer to when we talk about ‘common sense.’ It is a type of reasoning that takes into consideration the physical situation of the objects involved in the reasoning process. This is what it takes to recognize the potential of things that are right under our noses. This helps a person to solve problems in a practical way.
The retentiveness of memory is also enhanced. Little by little, the chess player remembers patterns of action that he stores in small boxes in his mind and applies them to the game as needed…this mental habit is a plus for real life.
A logical consequence of improving one’s thinking and one’s emotional reactions will be to pick up on academic achievement and social relationships, something children who play serious chess are likely to do.
Chess is a game that one can’t play unless one concentrates. Unlike other types of games, children cannot play chess beyond the limit that their physical constitution allows. Therefore, it is perfectly safe to teach them thus game.
John Skelly is an avid chess player and loves to not only play the game but talk about it with others. He particularly enjoys writing about the intricacies and dynamics of chess. He invites everyone to find out more about Quality-Chess.net and to play chess as often as they can.
