{"id":79229,"date":"2025-12-22T00:55:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T05:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=79229"},"modified":"2025-12-22T00:55:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T05:55:00","slug":"is-playing-chess-an-asset-for-academic-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/is-playing-chess-an-asset-for-academic-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Is playing chess an asset for academic success?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Chess, which has long suffered from a dusty image in society, is now enjoying a surge in popularity among young people thanks to series like\u00a0<\/span>The Queen’s Gambit<\/span><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(2020), the growth of\u00a0<\/span>esports<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, and initiatives by French NBA star Victor Wembanyama. Last July, Wembanyama proposed\u00a0<\/span>combining basketball and chess<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in a single competition, emphasizing:\u00a0<\/span>“We need a variety of things to grow.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Thus, since the 1970s, initiatives, initially isolated, have multiplied to bring chess into classrooms, with the conviction that practicing this game would develop many skills in students and promote academic learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do initial field reports confirm this? What approach to knowledge does the use of chess allow?<\/span><\/p>\n

Local experiments before widespread implementation<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

The interest in chess for school learning is not new.\u00a0\u00a0Traces of it can be found as early as the 19th century, such as a letter from a reader to a specialized journal suggesting a\u00a0<\/span>”\u00a0<\/span><\/sup>noble pastime” for students during recess<\/span><\/a>\u00a0. However, it wasn’t until the 1970s and 80s that concrete initiatives emerged, often in the form of\u00a0<\/span>school chess clubs<\/span><\/a>\u00a0.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a few\u00a0<\/span>“pilot schools<\/span><\/a>\u00a0,” chess is sometimes integrated into students’ timetables with mandatory hours. That said, a\u00a0<\/span>thesis defended in 1988<\/span><\/a>\u00a0shows that chess still often remains an extracurricular or after-school activity.<\/span><\/p>\n

When teachers take it up in the classroom, with the agreement of their superiors, some point out that they feel that\u00a0<\/span>chess develops skills such as intuition and spatial reasoning<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, but that they are not certain that students’ progress in these areas is attributable solely to learning chess.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2007, when\u00a0<\/span>an American study<\/span><\/a>\u00a0showed the benefits of chess for students struggling with mathematics and solving complex problems, the French Chess Federation, which has become a sports federation, signed a\u00a0<\/span>framework agreement with the national education system<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to officially regulate and authorize the practice of chess in the classroom.<\/span><\/p>\n

These projects, however, remain the preserve of teachers who are passionate about chess, often club players, who pedagogically convert their chess experience in the classroom.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Class’\u00c9checs program<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Throughout the 2000s, numerous international\u00a0<\/span>studies<\/span><\/a>\u00a0demonstrated the benefits of playing chess for students. Some countries integrated chess\u00a0<\/span>into school curricula<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or implemented\u00a0<\/span>significant programs<\/span><\/a>\u00a0.<\/span><\/p>\n

In France, in 2022, the French Chess Federation (FFE) launched the Class’\u00c9checs program and signed an\u00a0<\/span>amendment to the agreement<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to promote its development in primary schools. Four principles were thus highlighted:<\/span><\/p>\n