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According to Murray,
Chess originated at the end of sixth century in India. The game was
different then, elephants replacing the present day rooks and peasants
replacing pawns. The "firzan" now known as the queen could only move
diagonally one square at a time. Still, the basic elements of modern
chess were present: the game was played on an eight by eight board with
pieces and the sole goal being to checkmate the opposing king. The
game of chess has been dominated by Russians for nearly 70 years. With
the exception of Bobby Fischer who won the world championship in 1972
and relinquished it in 1975 the past 11 world champions have been of
Russian decent. Why are Russians the dominant figures in world chess?
Chess has been part of the curriculum for most Russian schools for over
40 years. Adolescents were encouraged to play chess at a very early age
to increase their problem solving and reasoning skills. The gifted
students were chosen and studied under the supervision of former world
champion Mikhail Botvinnik. Adrian de Groot, a psychologist in the
1960's became very interested in the use of chess as an educational
tool. He began studying the thinking behavior of chess players in
Russia. In particular he observed that there was a significant
difference approach between those who highly skilled and experienced in
chess to those who were new to the game. Initially de Groot assumed that
the Grandmaster's superiority lay in their ability to organize well and
to memorize concrete lines of play. What de Groot found was quite
different: Grandmasters did not rely on superior memory skills.
Grandmasters were not any better at recalling randomly placed pieces
than novice chess players were. The Grandmaster however was able to take
actual chess positions and in an astonishing 5 seconds recognize a
complex chess configuration and decide on a successful move. How were
the GM's able to give accurate, well thought out evaluations in so
little time? It seemed that GM's (but not novices) were able to
recognize familiar configurations, and associating them with appropriate
moves and plans.
Recent research in the late seventies and early eighties in the US has
confirmed these findings. Researchers concluded that meaningful
knowledge is stored in memory in the form of networks and patterns, and
these patterns provide the roots essential for recall. Thus the expert
and GM players were able to remember and recognize chunks of
information. In chess these chunks are visual representations in which
particular configurations are recognized. These relate to and often cue
prior successful responses or pattern responses. What is an involved
long sequence of decision making of information for novices, is
processed by experts in "one go". It seems that other experts such as
dancers, athletes and musicians operate mentally in much the same way.
Responses are efficient and fast as understanding and experience are
recognized and recalled in the essential structure of the activity. It
seems that chess players develop complex but efficient structures for
memory storage and management. One of the essential goals of
education is to teach children to think critically: students must learn
to make reasoned judgments. Chess is an excellent tool to demonstrate
the theme of critical thinking. During a game a player must formulate a
plan of attack or defense. The formulation of a plan entails that
the player must not only reflect on how similar problems are solved
(searching a database of previous knowledge) but also the player must
perform a systematic checking of possible combinations of moves and then
arrive at an evaluation of each line. The process is a mental exercise
where pieces are envisioned to be moving from square to square and the
player reflects on the characteristics of the position to finally
produce a reasoned outcome (move). This is precisely the definition of
critical thinking. Watson-Glaser appraised the value of chess as a
learning tool and showed overwhelmingly "that chess improved critical
thinking skills more than the other methods of enrichment." Included in
the study were future problem solving, problem solving with computers,
independent study, creative writing and fantasy games like Dungeons &
Dragons.
An important element of critical thinking in chess is the evaluation
process where the strength of one's position is assessed . Beginners who
play chess (and early computer programs) place significant emphasis on
material -- reasoning that "the player with more material will win by
sheer numbers". If only chess was that simple. Material plays a central
role in winning a chess game but many more ideas are needed for a useful
evaluation of a position. More advanced players find a balance: included
in their evaluation processes are the ideas of central control, pawn
structure, material, space, maneuverability, king safety, initiative and
development of pieces. The brain has internalized these values allowing
the player to make a reasoned judgment of which particular themes are
critical in evaluating his or her own position. Mathematicians
have estimated that there are approximately 10^50 possible unique games
of chess playable. Thus chess will never become just a repetition of
previously played moves. So how can a player possibly make a decision as
to which plan to choose with so many possible choices? Even with
complicated evaluative techniques, choosing the best plan can be very
difficult. The chess player must often must rely on intuition. The best
chess players are often those who have an acute feel or intuition for
which move is correct. This can be a useful tool in education. Intuition
is generally undervalued in educational terms but can be a very useful
tool in both problem solving and real life applications when the steps
to solve a problem are not easily apparent.
Are there links between mathematics and chess? Chess players are often
considered mathematically oriented and there are obvious similarities as
chess is a game of problem solving, evaluation, critical thinking,
intuition and planning -- much like the study of mathematics. Studies
have shown that students playing chess have increased problem solving
skills over their peers. Researcher suggests that while students playing
chess learn concepts through physical and visual stimuli and correlate
these concepts to cognitive patterns, mathematics in the classroom
usually involves only pure symbolic manipulation. Thus there seems to be
some evidence to suggest that chess acts as a sort of link in connecting
form (symbolic) with understanding (physical and visual). In the
early 80's Faneuil Adams became president of the American Chess
Foundation (ACF).
Adams was convinced that chess was an excellent learning tool for the
adolescent, especially the disadvantaged. The ACF embarked on the Chess
in Schools Program which focused on New York's Harlem School district.
Initially the program was focused on improving math skills for
adolescents through improved critical thinking and problem solving
skills. This was achieved as "test scores improved by 17.3% for students
regularly engaged in chess classes, compared with only 4.56% for
children participating in other forms of enriched activities."
Also noted was that many students social habits improved when playing
chess. The game allows for students of dissimilar backgrounds to
integrate with others. Many disadvantaged or special education students
are becoming actively involved in chess programs as the value of chess
as a social tool is further explored. Advocates of chess are hoping that
some of New York's gang related problems will be solved as children and
students play chess in their spare time instead of becoming involved
with gang related activities. Thus chess steers youth away from trouble
by keeping them off the streets as well as being a useful learning tool.
Jerome Fishman, Guidance Counselor, Queens, NY says: "I like the aspect
of socialization. You get into a friendly, competitive activity where no
one gets hurt. Instead of two bodies slamming into each other like
football, you have the meeting of two minds. Aside from developing
cognitive skills, chess develops their social skills. It makes them feel
they belong. Whenever we get a child transferred from another school who
may have maladaptive behavior, we suggest chess as a way of helping him
find his niche. The kids become better friends when after the game they
analyze possible combinations ... we have kids literally lining up in
front of the school at 6:45am to get a little chess in before class."
Principal Jo Bruno , Brooklyn, NY : "In chess tournaments the child gets
the opportunity of seeing more variety and diversity. There are kids who
have more money than they have, but chess is a common denominator. They
are all equal on the chessboard. I believe it is connected academically
and to the intellectual development of children. I see the kids able to
attend to something for more than an hour and a half. I am stunned. Some
of them could not attend to things for more than 20 minutes." Bruno
brings up the important point that chess can focus kids into
concentrating on a task for long periods of time. Why is this? The
author believes that many adolescents find chess fun and exciting. This
corresponds to the youths playing (learning) for long periods of time
without distraction.
Dr. Stuart Margulies, a researcher for IBM, stated that he "conclusively
proved that students who learned chess enjoyed a significant increase in
their reading ability". Dr. Margulies does not explai why he believes
there is a correlation between chess and increased reading skills but it
is the author's opinion that chess develops cognitive and attention
skills. Furthermore, chess forces adolescents to visualize concepts and
piece movement. This may allow for better visualization (interpretive)
skills when reading.
Where is chess education headed? In the United States a major scholastic
effort is underway to incorporate chess into the elementary school
setting by the USCF, the US Chess Trust, the AFC and thousands of
teachers and volunteers. The USCF scholastic magazine School Mates has
over 20,000 copies in circulation each month. Rosalyn Katz of New Jersey
spearheaded a movement for scholastic chess volunteers to change the
legislation for teaching chess in schools in the state of New York. Katz
managed to pass to bills in senate: Bill #S452 and #A1122. The bills
read : "An act concerning instruction in chess and supplementing
Chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes. Be it enacted by the
Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
• 1) The Legislature finds and declares that:
a) chess
increases strategic thinking skills, stimulates intellectual creativity,
and improves problem-solving ability, while raising self-esteem;
b) when youngsters
play chess they must call upon higher-order thinking skills, analyze
actions and consequences, and visualize future possibilities;
c) in
countries where chess is offered widely in schools, students exhibit
excellence in the ability to recognize complex patterns and consequently
excel in math and science; and
d)
instruction in chess during the second grade will enable pupils to learn
skills which will serve them throughout their lives.
• 2) Each board of education may offer
instruction in chess during the second grade for pupils in gifted and
talented and special education programs. The department of Education may
establish guidelines to be used by boards of education which offer chess
instruction in those programs.
• 3) This act shall be made effective immediately.
The Province of Quebec has followed suit and also has programs in place
where schools teach chess at the elementary level. Instructors are often
professional chess players hired by the school board to teach part-time
during the week. British Columbia has no official legislation regarding
chess as an active learning tool but the author believes that it is only
a matter of time until a comprehensive uniform stance is taken by the
province on chess in the classroom. At present chess is taught at few
schools in Vancouver, mostly under volunteer supervision. Lynn Stringer
currently volunteers many hours starting chess programs in many
Vancouver Island schools. As pressure grows from parents interested in
better educational programs the author expects chess programs will be
introduced province-wide in the near future . This will result in a
greater demand for qualified people with the necessary skills to teach
chess.
Yasser Seirawan, US Grandmaster, said that, "Chess must no longer remain
a civilized luxury of the leisure class in either appearance or fact;
rather, chess must assume its fundamental role as a mental integrator
and motivational activator. The hard scrabble nature of chess is equal
to the task; are we equal to its full scholastic implementation?"
Bibliography
• Long, Eleanor (1991). Secrets of the Grandmaster. Australian-
Mathematics Journal, 2, 24-27.
• Marjoram, D (1987). Chess and Gifted Children. Gifted
Education- International, 5, n(1), 48-51.
• Palm, Christine (1994). Scholastics: Chess Improves Academic
Performance. Northwest Chess,10, 1, 3
• Seirawan, Yasser (1994). Scholastic Chess - Feel the Buzz?
Inside Chess, 5, n(4), 3-4.
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