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Does chess instruction improve mathematical problem-solving ability? Two experimental studies with an active control

Giovanni Sala1, Fernand Gobet2

  • 1Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Bedford Street South, Liverpool, L69 7ZA, UK. giovanni.sala@liv.ac.uk.

Learning & Behavior
|June 25, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Playing chess does not significantly improve children's math skills. Rigorous experiments showed no advantage over active or passive control groups, suggesting modest effects at best.

Keywords:
ChessExpertiseInstructionLearningMeta-analysisTransfer

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Educational Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology

Background:

  • Chess playing is often anecdotally linked to enhanced mathematical abilities in children.
  • A recent meta-analysis suggested a positive effect but noted methodological limitations, particularly the lack of active control groups.
  • This study addresses these limitations by employing rigorous experimental designs to investigate the chess-math link.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To rigorously evaluate the impact of chess instruction on mathematical problem-solving and metacognitive abilities in children.
  • To compare the effects of chess instruction against both active (checkers, Go) and passive control groups.
  • To determine if chess interventions offer a significant benefit beyond traditional mathematics curricula.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments were conducted with third and fourth graders, involving approximately 25 hours of chess instruction.
  • Experiment 1 (N=233) compared chess players to active (checkers) and passive control groups.
  • Experiment 2 (N=52) used the game of Go as the active control.
  • Mathematical problem-solving and metacognitive abilities were assessed post-intervention.

Main Results:

  • Neither experiment found statistically significant differences in mathematical problem-solving abilities between the chess group and control groups.
  • No significant differences were observed in metacognitive abilities related to mathematics across the groups.
  • While slight, non-significant trends favored chess or passive controls over active controls in Experiment 2, these were not statistically meaningful.

Conclusions:

  • Chess instruction, when evaluated with robust experimental designs including active control groups, shows modest or negligible effects on children's mathematical abilities.
  • The findings do not support replacing traditional mathematics curricula with chess-based interventions.
  • Further research with stringent methodologies is needed to fully understand any potential cognitive transfer effects of chess.