Can teaching chess as part of the curriculum benefit elementary school students? Chess is part of the school curriculum in many U.S. states, including Texas and New Jersey, as well as some Canadian provinces and numerous countries around the world. Some research indicates that chess—introduced as a supplement to the mathematics curriculum—increases standardized test performances in mathematics and can actually increase IQ scores. This book analyzes major research as well as a cross-section of smaller studies and articles in the popular media.

Written by Richard James, Chess for Schools: From simple strategy games to clubs and competitions is a great resource to help teachers encourage children to enjoy the benefits and challenges of the chess game Chess is a game of extraordinary excitement and beauty and all children should have the opportunity to experience it. Indeed, many claim that playing abstract strategy games such as chess provides a wide range of cognitive and social benefits- such as improvements in problem-solving ability and communication skills. However, Richard James argues that, because of the complexity of chess, most younger children would gain more benefit from simpler chess-based strategy games and incremental learning. In this practical handbook, Richard provides a wide range of games and puzzles based on these principles which are appropriate for primary schools and explains how teachers can identify children who would benefit from starting young. Richard also sets out how this approach can engage the whole community, including working with children with special needs, getting parents involved in learning and playing, and developing partnerships between primary and secondary schools. Chess for Schools shares the latest research into how children process information, combined with insights into international best practice in teaching chess to young children. The book demonstrates the transformative effect chess can have on older children, and how this can be promoted in secondary schools. Richard James offers valuable insights into the greater context of chess-playing, expressing how and why chess is a joy to so many worldwide andshares a series of resources and minigames for teachers to use with their learners. An ideal resource for primary and secondary school teachers wanting to introduce their pupils to chess.

Chess has the rare quality that children love it despite the fact that it is good for them. Playing chess is just like life: you have to make plans, take decisions, be creative, deal with challenges, handle disappointments, interact with others and evaluate your actions. Psychologist and chess teacher Karel van Delft has spent a large part of his life studying the benefits of chess in education. In this guide he provides access to the underlying scientific research and presents the didactical methods of how to effectively apply these findings in practice. Van Delft has created a dependable toolkit for teachers and scholastic chess organizers. What can teachers do to improve their instruction? How (un)important is talent? How do you support a special needs group? How do you deal with parents? And with school authorities? What are the best selling points of a chess program? Boys and girls, does it make a difference? How do ‘chess in schools' programs fare in different countries? This is not a book on chess rules, with lots of moves and diagrams, but it points the way to where good technical chess improvement content can be found. Van Delft offers a wealth of practical advice on how to launch and present a chess program and how to apply the most effective didactics in order for kids to build critical life skills through learning chess.

The book is divided into different sections. An effort is made in the first few chapters to describe the game of chess, explain how to position the board, examine the history of each piece, demonstrate the movement of each piece, and provide some practical scenarios and questions for each reader. In the second half, a more in-depth analysis of the game is presented. It focuses on terms and meanings, information about world chess leaders, pins and forks, stalemates, how to force draws, and scenarios showing how to checkmate an opponent in one or two moves.