Our chess club are proud winners of Ficheall’s county & regional awards. Ficheall is the network of primary school teachers in Ireland who promote the playing of chess in schools for the social and cognitive benefits it has for students.
Teachers and principals involved in Ficheall.ie have observed how children have been enabled to develop patience, impulse control, resilience, accepting of feedback, development of a growth mindset and simple social skills such as shaking hands before and after a game, not gloating after a win and making conversation, all through playing chess.
Social Benefits
The social benefits of playing chess for children are well documented and include:
- Learning to win with grace and accept losses. Chess etiquette promotes good sportsmanship.
- Developing impulse control: Playing chess teaches children to consider the consequences of their actions.
- Mental resilience and confidence: Learning a new skill can help to build confidence and learning from one’s losses helps to develop mental resilience.
Chess helps children to develop everyday social skills by bringing them together playing games face to face. Chess players now make up one of the world’s largest communities – 605 million adults play chess regularly!