Compendiums and Recent Papers
Rather than maintain an exhaustive list of research papers, this site provides a few links what we consider to be particularly noteworthy recent Chess in Education studies as well as compendiums of CIE research on other websites.
Papers
- Students’ Perceived Benefits of Chess: Differences across Age and Gender [Source: Chitiyo, G., Lastres, M., Simone, K., & Zagumny, L. (2023); Tennessee Tech University, Journal of Global Education and Research, 7(3), 214-225]
- Students’ Perceptions of the Benefits of Scholastic Chess Instruction [Source: Chitiyo, G. Zagumny, L., Littrell, M. N., Besnoy, K., Akenson, A. B., & Davis K. M., Ablakwa, C., & Lastres, M. (2021). Brock Education Journal 31(1)]
- Teacher Perceptions of Using Chess as a Heuristic Pedagogical Method [Source: Chitiyo, G., Zagumny, L., Davis, K., Littrell, M., Akenson, A., Besnoy, K., Mathende, A., & Potter K. (2021). International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 13(3)]
- Teaching with Chess: Exploring the Relationship between Chess and Student Learning Outcomes [Source: Chitiyo, G, Zagumny, Akenson, Littrell, Davis, Besnoy (2020);Tennessee Tech University & The University of Alabama]
- The Effects of Chess Instruction on Pupils’ Cognitive and Academic Skills: State of the Art and Theoretical Challenges [Source: Sala, Foley, Gobet; Frontiers in Psychology (2017)]
- Teacher Training is the key …and always will be [Source: Gerald Sagmeister I Tiago Hirth | Monika MusilekIEP, PH Wien | University of Lisboa| IBS, PH Wien]
Compendiums
- Compilation of Chess and Education Research Studies [source: chess.com]
- Research [source: Chess in Schools (UK)]
- Twelve Research Reports into Chess and Education [source: ChessPlus]
- Chess in Education Research [source: FIDE Chess in Education Commission]
- Chess Studies Literature Review [source: St. Louis Chess Club]
- Google Scholar [suggested search phrase: “chess in education”]
”"The research reported thus far provides evidence that chess training has salutary cognitive and educational effects among school-aged students."
William M. BartDepartment of Educational Psychology, University of MN, MN, USA [2012]
”Knowing that the self-perceived benefits of chess playing were all rated higher for elementary students than for middle or high school students, educators at the elementary level have a unique opportunity to incorporate chess in instruction while aiming to achieve the greatest beneficial impact for students. Additionally, elementary level educators and administrators have a responsibility to advocate for such strategies to set young students on a trajectory for success and achievement.
Chitiyo et al.from "Students' Perceived Benefits of Chess: Differences across Age and Gender"
What does CIE Research Reveal?
20th Century Research
Chess in education research in the late 20th century largely focused on questions concerning the educational value of “teaching chess”, a somewhat amorphous concept comprised of various teaching methods rooted in traditional competitive (or sport) chess training. An implicit assumption seemed to be that the inherent characteristics of the game were of primary importance, as opposed to the significance of pedagogy, curriculum, or methods of presenting chess to students.
21st Century Challenges
In the 21st century researchers began to challenge the shortcomings of 20th century research. Non-academic benefits related to social-emotional learning would receive additional attention. Research generally confirmed the correlation of chess trainings and academic performance, particularly in the math domain. However evidence of direct cognitive benefits of chess training was not conclusive and at times inconsistent. Faults in research design and the challenges of doing rigorous testing within an educational setting were sometimes cited as reasons for this.
Questions arose as to how much of the observed benefits of chess might be due to placebo effects and whether a chess training intervention could be proven superior, not just to a passive control group, but to an alternative active interventions such as music or working memory training. Researchers put forth hypotheses that chess training was special to the extent it developed “far transfer” skills (e.g., skills related to working memory, fluid intelligence, and concentration capacity.)
A seminal opinion piece in 2017 by Sala, Foley, and Gobet deemed this hypothesis credible, but untested, …Read More
For practitioners of chess in education, how chess was taught would become increasingly important. Competitive chess training requires a mix of near and far transfer elements for success. Would chess training weighted with a richer mix of far transfer skill development (and fewer near transfer elements) be more effective in enhancing academic performance? As a practical matter, the Internet and explosion of digital training methods only added to the need for clarity about what kind of “chess training” was being measured. What mix of live instruction and digital instruction was included in the experiment? What mix of chess and pedagogical training did the instructors have? These are only a few of the questions relevant to CIE research in this emerging international field of study. Implications
”Chess requires domain-general cognitive abilities that may be trained by the practice of the game. Then, those cognitive abilities may transfer to other domains....
Giovanni Sala, John P. Foley, Fernand Gobet; The Effects of Chess Instruction on Pupils' Cognitive and Academic Skills: State of the Art and Theoretical Challenges;Frontiers of Psychology, 23 February 2017
These explanations, albeit lacking detail, are plausible and provide the basis for the hypothesis that chess instruction strengthens cognitive abilities that are positively correlated to achievements in mathematics.... The causal mechanisms remain substantially untested.
”Only if teachers have well-founded knowledge, a good transfer to the classroom is possible. The potential of using strategy games to promote mathematical
Gerald Sagmeister I Tiago Hirth | Monika Musilek IEP, PH Wien | University of Lisboa | IBS, PH Wien
skills and heuristic abilities can only be exploited if teachers are aware of and acquire a deep understanding on using games for educational purposes.
