Children More Chess = A Better Future

Many parents have asked me if chess really brings any benefit to their children or if it is just a game for fun, the answer I give them is that it is both, it can be a perfect leisure activity to spend time with the family, as well as (if you understand the basic rules of the game and a little bit of tactics and strategy) it becomes something that has nothing to envy today's video games, a world full of possibilities where you can be a gentleman who takes the initiative and risks or a strategist who gradually gains small advantages.

Benefits of Chess

Answering the question of what benefits chess brings to children's lives, we can mention many qualities, among which are memory, logical thinking (often it is said that it is beneficial because it helps children develop math skills, the truth is that it does not specifically help children develop math skills, but by developing logical thinking it indirectly helps develop math skills, which at its base is pure logical thinking), imagination, frustration (as in all sports, we fail many times, but the important thing is not how many times we fail, but how many times we get up and learn).

Social Skills

It helps the child develop social skills; if he/she likes chess and continues to play at amateur level or higher, he/she will come across many places where chess tournaments take place (they are usually in schools or gyms in the neighborhood) and a large community gathers in these places, where he/she will most likely meet his/her future friends who like and are passionate about the same thing.

Creativity

Creativity is another trait that the child will develop over time, it may sound strange that creativity is developed through a game that is so square from the outside (literally 😆), but chess is so broad that it is very unlikely to play the same game more than a few times you always have to think for yourself, try to find the possible paths and see which of them is the best. Even sometimes the best moves are hidden behind moves that seem wrong at first glance, that's where creativity comes in, the ability to create with the little or much you have.

Concentration

Concentration is another important characteristic that with chess becomes a skill that can be learned and trained, chess demands that we have a concentration as deep as possible (depending on the phase of the game), over time this becomes part of the life of the chess player. This is one of the reasons why we see more and more chess workshops in schools and educational institutions these days, as this is an essential advantage for learning, the ability to focus on an activity with all our cerebral capacities in it.

Decision Making

Now I would like to focus on something that is crucial not only for the development of the child, but also for all of us in our lives in general, I am talking about decision making.

In our lives we have to make decisions all the time, some simple like whether to wear red or green, and others more important like whether to take a job or not, so it is very important that children begin to deal with decisions and choices from an early age, at first in a fun way and then a little more consciously, tools that chess offers to children and their development.

Chess soon shows whether our last choice was good or bad (but as I said before, it is not about how many times you fail, but how much you learn even when you succeed). This is because in chess once you move a piece you cannot go back, once you move a piece you can only wait and collect the wins or take the losses of your decision.