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Role of chess in a child’s development
October 14th, 2009
Chess is not just a thinking game. It provides more fun and excitement to a person, and at the same time, teaches invaluable lessons of life to the person. When we think of chess, the first thing that comes to mind is that it is a sport or a leisure activity taken up to relax, and have fun and excitement. The fact that chess calls for thinking, exercises your brain and stimulates your mind and such other things are not given due consideration though they are the chief benefits of the game.
It is for this reason chess is still considered as a game or a professional sport and not as an activity for teaching the traits of life or as a specialized subject in the school academics such as mathematics or science.
In many countries, the importance of chess has been realized and, as such, teaching chess and encouraging children to play the game regularly has been made a part of the school academic curriculum.
How the game of chess helps a child in his or her career development?
The salient feature of the game of chess is its fairness. There is no room for luck or chance in the game. No special rules or concessions are there for the different sets of players. Just because you are a child or a novice learning the game, you will not be provided with two kings. Similarly, the world champion in the tournament will not be asked to play the game without any pawns in the board. The pieces, the board, and the rules are the same for all types of players.
Chess is a game that punishes a player as soon as he makes a mistake. One cannot get away from this mistake in the normal course of the game. That can happen only if the opponent does not take notice of your mistake and do not realize that a mistake is done by you.
As such, while learning the game, the child learns to think and make wise moves. The seed for thinking is sown in the child’s mind at the tender age. When the child gets punished for a couple of mistakes in the initial stages, he will start to think before moving fearing punishment. This aspect of thinking makes his mind stimulate and the brain gets a tonic of exercise.
The idea of thinking and focusing on the pieces and the moves helps a child develop the trait of concentration as he plays the game and tries to learn the tricks of the game. This focusing or concentration makes him work better and solve mathematical problems, which require more attention and focus. More attention and focus on the subjects leads to better performance and higher scores in the classes for students. Higher marks and recognition among the classmates helps a child feel more confident about himself. This self-confidence, if developed to a child in his or her early age, will do wonders for his future career not just to play chess but face the real life challenges with courage and confidence.
As a chess player, not only will the child be thinking about the game before making the move. He is also exposed to yet another important trait. He has to be alert enough to watch the opponent’s move and take appropriate steps to either defend his pieces or exploit the mistake of the opponent. He should not be careless or allow his thought to wander while waiting for the opponent to make a move.
This alertness and instant reaction to the move of the opponent helps a player gain an upper hand in the game. Not only will it help in learning the tricks of chess, being alert at all times will be very useful. He can react to things as they happen and taken suitable actions.
Thinking and remaining alert are the vital components of confidence and playing chess regularly especially in the early age will help children cultivate this habit that will finally shape their life.
Posted in Chess Chess, chess benefits, chess children, kids play chess, online chess, play chess, playing chess children
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