The Impact Of Chess On Children's Education - Field Research
Hooray! Time for another blog!
Today's article will be like a "sequel" to my very first text, Judo Talent vs. Chess Talent: A Case Study With Children. To be fair, I would have liked to have written it last month, but since I had to rely on responses from people who took longer than I wanted to reply, I had to come up with something else.
Anyway, that is not so important anymore. What matters now is that the material is ready to be presented, so let me explain what the whole idea is:
As you will hopefully remember if you read that first blog, I tried to analyse the similarities and differences in children's talent and behaviour when we were talking about a physical sport (judo) and a mental one (chess).
For this second part, I chose five of those pupils who, in my opinion, either excelled more or showed more interest in chess, and tried to observe what kind of impact the introduction to the game had on their lives, be it
- In my judo classes
- At school
- At home with their families
The chess lessons I gave them were back in 2020 and 2021, so I think four years should be enough to draw some conclusions, even though, as I always remind you, we're talking about a small group of people, without a real, rigorous scientific approach. Also, children's behaviour can be influenced by many other factors, so please read with the awareness that nothing here is definitive or set in stone. It is just for the sake of curiosity.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Child #1 - Judo / School / Home
Child #2 - Judo / School / Home
Child #3 - Judo / School / Home
Child #4 - Judo / School / Home
Child #5 - Judo / School / Home
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Ok, so before I start, let me just explain one thing. I don't want to call them by their numbers all the time, but at the same time, I don't want to reveal their real names (although I don't think it would do any harm, but still). So, I have changed their names to some common ones in Brazil. It will make no difference to you, the reader; I just wanted to be honest. Let's start with Bruno, who was child #35 in the other text. Below are his "stats" in each category that I had made at the time.
As you can see, he really loved chess and was quite good at it! With talent, desire to improve, and results all scoring 10 in my evaluation. In judo, he was quite strong for a child of his age and had some talent, but no great interest in improving. His marks at school were also above average, but not outstanding. However, he had always been a rather restless and rowdy student, both in my classes and at school.
Let's check how learning chess has affected him, as perceived by me, his teacher, and his parents:
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Of course, as his former chess teacher, I can be a bit biased, but I have noticed that his desire to improve in judo has also increased, and he has begun to ask me more questions about the techniques I teach, to try harder to correct some imperfections, to pay more attention to my advice, and to achieve better results as a natural consequence.
Perhaps that's the most interesting thing, because he went from 13th place in the Paraná State Championship in 2020 (before Covid-19) to silver medalist in 2022. You can imagine how angry I was with the referee for depriving him of the gold proud of him I was for such an improvement!
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According to his teacher, Bruno has become much better behaved during her classes, which is something I can believe to be strongly connect to chess. Below is what she wrote to me only a few days ago about him.
Bruno's grades at school showed a subtle but noticeable improvement after your chess lessons. However, I think what struck me most was how much calmer and better behaved he became in class. The number of times I had to scold him for being loud at the wrong moments dropped to almost zero.
Bruno's maths and head teacher
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At home, his parents noticed that he spent more time with the family than playing video games or using other modern technology (I understand he doesn't have a phone yet, but he loved to use his father's computer for hours whenever allowed). From what I spoke to his mother, the social impact was the most positive point, and they bought him a chessboard, which he now uses to play against some relatives who visit them regularly.
I tried to persuade her that she and her husband needed to learn the game too, to encourage him even more, and to have the chance to spend some quality time with their son. I was actually disappointed that they hadn't done so yet, so let's hope that changes.
I am very grateful that he had those chess lessons during the pandemic. I think it's what kept him from going crazy at home during those difficult times when he couldn't play with his friends. Today, he's changed a lot, thanks to you!
Bruno's mother
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I'm going to call him Diego (please don't ask me why I chose these names, they're just very common). He was child #16 in the last text. As you can see below, his weakest aspect was his competitiveness, which was not very great for either sport. However, his chess talent stood out and made him interested in learning more. I remember he loved solving puzzles and could spend minutes looking at the same position to find the best move.
His behaviour in my classes and normal school lessons was always good, so he had never caused any major problems. His parents had never complained too much about him either, so I suppose Diego was one of those quiet kids who don't create trouble for adults.
But this article is not just about what they were like before they learned chess, but mainly about what happened afterwards.
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My completely unbiased opinion is that his competitiveness has increased considerably. As a general feeling, I think that seeing that he could do well in chess gave him more confidence in himself, and therefore, the desire to win in other sports. Whilst he had always been active in asking questions and trying to improve, his concentration was low, and he used to ask questions just for the sake of asking them, only to do it wrong again minutes later.
After learning chess and spending so much time solving puzzles, he seemed more focused on doing what I asked him to correct in his technique, and his results, though not as clear as Bruno's, became better.
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At school, there was in fact little difference in his grades or general behaviour. (I checked everyone's reports before writing this.) His teacher did exaggerate a bit in her testimonial, but I am convinced it was probably just because I asked her about it, and she would feel bad if she said there was not such a big effect. But to be fair, here it is:
Diego has shown considerable improvement in class after learning chess. He is more attentive, more participative, and this has also been reflected in his grades.
Diego's Portuguese and head teacher
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At home, according to his parents, Diego is now "addicted" to online chess. I will not reveal his Chess.com account here without his consent (I may do so later if he agrees after reading this blog), but his blitz and rapid ratings are around 1500 and I have seen that he really plays and solves puzzles every day.
My son has thoroughly enjoyed learning chess and does not spend a single day without it. He always looks forward to playing in tournaments. It has been a blessing for us as he is exercising his brain and making new friends at the same time. We just make sure to limit his online time for the sake of his health.
Diego's father
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Our third child will be Victor. He was #6 in my last blog. As you can see, he had some problems in judo because of his very slim body, even for a kid. I had already talked to his mother about the need for him to eat better and more.
Fortunately, the muscle training in my classes had helped a little. However, this lack of strength also affected his confidence. Although I have no proof or official reports, I am almost certain that he was at least slightly bullied because of this.
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In my classes, I noticed a great increase in his self-confidence. Of course, the practice of judo itself helped him to become at least a little stronger at the same time, but I saw that after the pandemic, he became more dedicated and less shy. I always had the impression that he never believed he could win a fight. Even when the opponent was his size and sometimes had an inferior technique, he always failed at the critical moments due to a lack of belief.
This is something that has clearly changed. It was as if being good at chess had shown him that he had value and could achieve similar results in other areas with the right commitment. If I were to update the table above, his results in judo went from 6 to 8, or maybe even 9.
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His grades at school were already very good, as you can see from my 8 in 'Intellect'. But his teacher has also noticed a marked improvement in his confidence and participation in class, as he is less afraid to speak. Of course, I am not going to pretend that chess itself makes people less shy, but perhaps it is related to the fact that he discovered a world in which he was not one of the weakest, and the feeling of being "intelligent" in such a noble game may have boosted his confidence.
I have heard he even has a "girlfriend" now, haha, it is probably cute 
Victor is much more involved in class than he was a few years ago. He's not afraid to ask questions, talk to his classmates, and he's even found himself a girlfriend.
Victor's Social Studies teacher
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At home, unfortunately, he stopped playing chess a few months after my lessons. However, his parents have noticed that he is much more active, creative, and tries new sports and activities without fear of being judged or failing at the beginning.
Paradoxically, Victor has become a much more active and creative child since learning chess from you. He is now always looking for new sports to try, wants to meet new people, and no longer has that insecurity about trying something new and different. I think you've really helped him to understand that we can all be good at something. You just have to want it.
Victor's parents
I don't know which of his parents wrote that because they have a couple's profile on social media (smh).
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Our fourth child and last boy is Arthur, who was pupil #21 in my previous blog. He was not doing well at school, had a bad performance, and I remember him being rude or boastful with his friends and colleagues at times. He was also unnecessarily loud and, to be honest, not well-behaved.
I hope his parents don't read this (and that's why I changed the names), but for me, it had a lot to do with his creation at home, and I wasn't in the mood to be the one trying to fix it. Anyway, did chess at least minimise the problem? (Would I be writing about it if it hadn't? Duh).
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The good news is that, yes! To be fair, this was the biggest discrepancy and change of behaviour among all examples here, and also the main reason why I decided to write this text, as I am pretty sure that chess played a major role, so clear and so fast was the transformation!
Shortly after, and even during chess lessons, Arthur had begun to show much more respect to me and his classmates, especially to the opponents he had beaten. The bragging in judo was left behind, and he began to be almost like a gentleman, whether he won or lost a fight or a game of chess. Focus and dedication also went to a very high level, making me proud of him and turning him from one of my most hated students to one of my favourites.
Once, we "fought" and he even said something like:
I don't mind losing to a girl, teacher. Because what counts in judo is technique and experience, and you have much more than I do.
Arthur, cutely calling me an "old auntie"
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His teachers noticed the same change I did. He was much more respectful to them, and his grades, although he obviously did not become an Einstein suddenly, also improved significantly.
Teaching him chess was a great favour you did to me and Arthur's parents, and one of the best things that could have happened to him. He has become not only a better student, but a better person. The change was so hard to believe that at first I almost thought he was acting. It took me a few weeks to be convinced that he was a "new boy".
Arthur's Math and head teacher
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His parents, as I said before, were, in my opinion, to blame for his previous bad behaviour, so I somehow avoided mentioning this social aspect and asked more about chess in general and if he still liked to play it. Fortunately, the answer was positive.
Yes, Arthur still plays chess! He doesn't do it online, but we bought him a chessboard and he plays with his dad and uncle sometimes. He also wants to teach his cousin when he gets a bit older. It will be good if the children can have some quiet fun and give us a break.
Arthur's mother
P.S.: Only after writing did I realise that changing the child's name was pointless because his mother could read her quote here. But I think the chances are less than 0.0001%. Whatever.
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The last one is the only girl I am going to talk about in this text. I thought about calling her Leticia in the article, but that might confuse the readers, so let's just call her... hmm... how about... Vanessa? Yeah, sounds good enough. No idea why my brain came up with such a random name, but it is a mystery we will probably never solve. Anyway, Vanessa was #43 on that other blog. Here are the stats:
You can see that she was not a very competitive child, both in judo and chess. Especially in the former, which I always thought was a shame because she is quite strong for a girl and could use that to her advantage.
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After learning chess, she also became better at judo. In my opinion, the explanation is that she opened up her mind. Vanessa started to concentrate more on learning new techniques and tried new things during the fights. I had always noticed that she always tried to use only her 2 or a maximum of 3 favourite throws and holds, which made her easily predictable for her opponents.
Chess has probably helped her to understand that there are many more possibilities and has widened her range of options. The curious thing is that one of the side effects has been to make her more competitive. To this day, she gets a little upset when she loses after using something she has just learned, but I try to explain that this is part of mastering any new technique.
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At her school, all the teachers I asked were not even aware of the fact that she played chess, so I did not insist too much on having any report from them because I assume there were no big changes in behaviour or grades. Sorry for this very small section. Please find below a drawing of a clueless teacher just to prevent it from being too short.
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In general, at home, her parents are very happy with her because she has learnt and practised two sports that are normally considered more male-dominated. They think she is more determined and confident in trying new things and challenging typical gender roles, which I think is a very positive thing.
Vanessa learned judo, then chess, so she understood earlier than I expected that there are no "boys" or "girls" things. I am sure you and your chess lessons helped a lot. She does what she likes best and is not afraid of being the only girl there. I would not be surprised to see her racing cars in the future.
Vanessa's father
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Let's keep in mind that everything above is not 100% conclusive, mainly because children are fickle and many other factors besides chess may have had a huge influence at the same time, as it is impossible to isolate the variables in this case.
Nevertheless, I thought it would be something interesting to analyse and bring here to discuss the results with the community. Some of them are very clear, and I am sure that chess has had some important influence on their lives. Here is the summary of what you have read, showing how learning chess has changed these kids.
The best part is that these changes have almost always been for the best, and that four of them are still playing the game years later. Hopefully, they will remember to thank their first teacher when they become GMs and world champions.
Speaking for myself, as someone who also went to chess, judo, and normal classes as a child, I can say that chess really helped me in terms of concentration, self-confidence, and above all, understanding that getting better at anything is a slow process that takes time. This was probably the reason why I did not give up judo, even though I was the only girl and the weakest fighter there. So if one day I decide to write a text like @VOB96's Moments When Chess Changed My Life, this will certainly be mentioned.
I know that some of you have also had experience teaching children (and perhaps, like me, not just chess), so I'd be delighted if you'd like to share any remarkable facts in the comments section. See you next time!
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*All quotes have been translated by me from Portuguese into English. I hope this is obvious, but I say it in order to leave no doubt.
