Why Chess?

By Kostas Giouvantsioudis

http://mychess.gr/

 

Often known as a game for the intellectually gifted, chess is the best sport to exercise the most important organ in our bodies: the brain.

Playing chess has proven to help students enhance their creativity, improve their power of concentration, develop and expand critical thinking skills. Boost memory and retention, and achieve superior academic performance

Chess is a game of pure intellect, focus, and wits, in which the players win or lose solely depending on their own performance. Chess teaches the students to become more resilient and not be discouraged when they lose. The students recognize that they learn from their mistakes and often see losses as a way of learning from it and get motivated to do better.  There are many benefits of playing chess:

1.        Chess helps to build self-confidence and self-worth

2.        Chess creates an intellectual social forum which helps create new friendships.

3.        Chess teaches kids to rely on their own abilities and take responsibility for their own actions.

4.        Chess teaches commitment.

5.        Chess helps to build academic skills.

6.        Chess improves a child’s thinking abilities.

7.        Chess teaches kids how to win and lose in an acceptable manner.

8.        Chess teaches kids that value of hard work.

9.        Chess teaches kids that team work pays off.

10.    Chess teaches kids to follow rules while having fun.

11.    Promotes brain growth

12.    Raises your IQ

13.    Sparks your creativity 

14.    Increases problem-solving skills 

15.    Teaches planning and foresight

16.    Improves reading skills

17.    Optimizes memory improvement

18.    Improves recovery from stroke or disability

19.    Academic Confidence

20.    Proactivity

21.    Promotes brain growth

22.    Personal Integrity

23.    Concentration &Attention Span

24.    Critical Thinking, Creativity & Planning

25.    Spatial Awareness

26.    Problem Solving

27.    Independent &Abstract Decision Making

28.    Emotional Intelligence

29.    Developing Confidence

30.    shown to benefit an individual's academic performance in school

31.    Increases concentration ability

32.    improves decision-making and risk management (i.e. in chess, decision-making is very important; one move could cost you the game.   Individuals learn not to make hasty, rash decisions through chess)

33.    enhances ability to analyze a situation before coming to conclusions

34.    builds self-confidence (chess teaches children not to take losses too seriously, so in the future, losses do not discourage a child as much as they would have)

35.    You win some, you lose some. Chess teaches a player not to be too discouraged after a loss and forces them to bounce back and try to play their best the next round.

36.    Beating someone in a game of chess is a great feeling.

37.    enhances fighting spirit

38.    Sometimes in chess, lost positions can be salvaged, as one slip-up by your opponent could hand you the win.   Chess teaches a person not to give up and always have hope for a situation, no matter how bad it seems.

39.    Lastly, chess is an extremely beneficial   and fun hobby to have.

40.    Helps prevent Alzheimer’s.