Why Chess Matters

Why Chess Matters is an easy-to-read book about chess and self-improvement. It has just enough detail to learn to play the game for fun. But additionally, it is a book about how to teach chess with new skills in mind that help both the teacher and the student or the parent and the child. There are also chapters on the history of chess and how it evolved, a chapter on careers, as well as a chapter on Jr. Golf and chess. Chess can have a profound effect on the educational experience of our students by introducing new skills, called 'non-cognitive skills,' not ordinarily found in a typical curriculum, which relies heavily on memorizing and regurgitating facts. Non-cognitive skills include grit, determination, patience, self-confidence, problem solving and a host of other qualities that help kids succeed. Why Chess Matters explains how and why chess can help in the area of non-cognitive skills. Significantly, these same qualities and skills form the foundation of the relatively new field of Positive Psychology, founded by Dr. Martin Seligman in the late 1990's. For example, just one of these qualities is patience. For a parent watching their former fidgety kid sitting still, concentrating on winning a chess game, over a board and opposite a real human, and not a computer or TV screen, is nothing short of miraculous! The book explores other qualities too. To sum up, the teaching and learning experience, using the elements found in Why Chess Matters, is the best way to introduce people to the ancient game, and infuse skills and qualities not prevalent in other forms of teaching.