Can your child play chess? It is a game which, if played regularly, subconsciously grooms your child for success.
As summer vacations draw closer, most parents start planning what they should do to ensure their child stays occupied. Although many children join or are already involved with various extra-curricular activities, they manage to stay relatively busy, but they still do have numerous patches of free time. Which is fine if they need relaxation, but most children, as parents know, rarely need to de-stress and relax. They get all the relaxation they require when they go to sleep at night, or when they take their afternoon nap. The rest of the time they like to be doing something or the other, and if they have nothing constructive to do, you can be sure that they will be glued to the television screen, watching Pokemon.
You don't have to be pushing your child to do something or the other all the time, but playing games is something every child loves. Older children however get tired of the same games, and constantly need something new to provide them with fresh stimulation.
Chess is an ideal game, because every game of chess is so different from the other. It is an evergreen game, and something your child will enjoy for years to come.
Problem-solving
Chess essentially forces your child to think strategically, thus developing his strategy-forming skills and his problem-solving skills. Children sub-consciously learn to look at problems from various angles when playing the game, and find solutions to these problems. Chess forces players to look for more and more alternatives, and not to give up until every possible strategy has been tried. Thus, this game will help your child develop skills he will need to survive in the real world.
Memory
Research has shown that students who play chess have stronger and significantly better developed memory than those who don't.
Patience
Chess is a slow, thinking game, and it helps your child develop patience. It also encourages your child to pay attention for longer spans of time, thus benefiting children with Attention Deficit Disorder. Lalitha, the mother of a once extremely hyperactive 9-year-old, says, "This game has helped my child become calmer. There was a time when he could not sit still for a minute, and now he can concentrate on a game of chess for an hour. Luckily for me he is really passionate about the game, and looks forward to his Wednesday chess session with me, and his Sunday chess session with his father." Thus, a child who cannot willingly sit still for more than a few minutes, will happily spend hours immersed in this game.
Focus
The thinking pattern that a child develops when playing this game regularly, is something that breeds success. A child who willingly sits for an hour or so at a stretch and focuses on something with a one-track mind, putting all his energies into problem solving, is definitely going to get more out of this game than just a 'checkmate.'
Although chess is not something children learn at school in India, this game is taught in various schools in at least 30 countries through the world, including Russia, Venezuela, just to name a few. It is taught as a subject, and children do have to study it and practice it as homework! Not surprisingly, chess is a favourite subject amongst all these students.
