Cognitive Benefits of Chess Training in Novice Children

The present study aim demonstrate of role chess training has on school performance, memory, sustained attention and creativity. A group of 20 novice primary school students took part in 10 blended learning chess lessons and in a final chess competition (the chess group, ChG). Eighteen control students participated in 10 fun math lessons. Most cognitive skills increased from pretest to posttest in both groups but the School Performance Test increased significantly more in the ChG. Resistance to monotony and not IQ at pretest predicted success in the chess contest.