It’s Friday which means I scoured the internet and found something educational and free! I was actually looking for a fun chess program for Biker Boy and found ChessKid.com, a website where kids can learn to play chess on the computer in a fun and most importantly, safe environment.

Your child may not be the next Bobby Fischer or Rochelle Ballantyne , nonetheless introducing them to chess at an early age, can have a profound benefit on their cognitive development. The research showing chess’ effect on children is quite impressive:

• Develop analytical, synthetic and decision-making skills, which they can transfer to real life.
• Learn to engage in deep and thorough chess research which will help them build their confidence in their ability to do academic research.
• Help children gain insights into the nature of competition which will help them in any competitive endeavor.
• When youngsters play chess they must call upon higher-order thinking skills, analyze actions and consequences, and visualize future possibilities.
• 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.

I should also remind you that an adult brain has not stopped growing so moms you too can benefit from playing chess. If you already play, keep doing it and if you don’t, why not learn along with your little ones?

By for now and have a great week-end!

Related articles

• It’s the world’s greatest game, so why have we fallen out of love with chess? | Stephen Moss (theguardian.com)
• In Norway, Chess Broadcast Spurs NFL-Like Fan Frenzy (blogs.wsj.com)