Should all kids be forced to play chess?

Armenia is making the game mandatory for schoolchildren. Will that make them smarter?

Grade-school kids play in a Minnesota chess tournament: In Armenia, all students will be required to take chess lessons to improve their critical thinking skills.
(Image credit: CC BY: Nina Hale)

Armenia has come up with a novel approach to school reform — it's making chess lessons mandatory for all students age 6 and older. A spokesman for the country's education ministry says compulsory lessons will "foster schoolchildren's intellectual development" and improve their critical thinking skills. The government also hopes that its $1.5 million investment will help the tiny nation of 3.2 million become a "chess superpower." Is forcing kids to play chess really a good way to help them learn?

Absolutely, chess teaches kids how to think: Chess strengthens the mind, says psychology professor Mark Sabbagh in Canada's National Post. Teaching the game in schools will force students to learn "planning, thinking ahead, imagining the strategies of another person." These skills give kids the ability to act on reflection, not just impulse, which is a gift that will help them succeed in life.

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