Does School Chess Improve Math Skills?
A cautious yes is the verdict of a systematic review of studies on the
effects of school chess that will be presented at the second London Chess
and Education Conference on 6 and 7 December. Anna Nicotera from the Basis
Policy Research institute has analyzed all the research she could trace
on a grant from the St. Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center. Her review
doesn´t yet include several brandnew studies from Italy, Denmark and
Sweden and ongoing studies in the UK and Spain, all of which are going to
be discussed in London.
The conference was launched in 2013 and has been an immediate success.
Nearly 100 school chess experts from all continents gathered at last year's
London Chess Classic. This year the conference focuses on Chess and Mathematics.
Improving maths education has currently high priority in the United Kingdom.
Chess in Schools and Communities, the charity that runs the conference and
the London Chess Classic festival, is alerting decision-makers about the
benefits of chess with regard to the aquisition of maths, logic and reasoning.
Even more important than the latest reseach is the exchange of ideas and
best practices. Instilling cooperation across borders is another important
goal of the meeting, for which delegates from 25 countries on all five continents
have registered. Registration is still open and free for contributors and
those who travel from outside Europe. The conference also features an exhibition
of printed and digital chess teaching and teacher training materials with
Chessbase among the exhibitors.
There is a growing consensus that chess instruction benefits from a diverse
arsenal of games, actitivies and puzzles. To encourage new contributions
a competition
has been added to the conference: The best new educational game using the
chess board and pieces and suitable for use in primary school will be voted
by an international jury and be awarded a first prize of 500 pounds.
You
can view the full programme of the conference here.
Some impressions from last year's conference (by Ray Morris-Hill)
The main conference room
Malcolm Pein and Stefan Loeffler open the
conference
The panel with Leontxo Garcia, Leo Battisti,
John Foley, Garry Kasparov and Carl Fredrik Johansson
Garry Kasparov and Carl Fredrik Johansson take
part in the discussions
Sarah Kett giving a presentation
Professor Aram Hajian, American University
of Armenia
Professor Fernand Gobet, University of Liverpool
Workshop on Sunday
Refreshment break
Links
Some interesting papers sumitted
