Earlier in the year, we launched our newest app, Magnus’ Kingdom of Chess. The game is unlike anything else available for kids today. It teaches children the foundations of chess while they’re immersed in a fun, adventure style game. Players move through new and exciting worlds, slowly being introduced to the chess pieces and moves as they go. As Magnus stated earlier this year, “it’s a great way for kids to learn chess in a gamified way”.
But what does that have to do with children’s development? Well, let’s have a look at some studies that explain just how advantageous learning chess can be, and hopefully you’ll see why we created this awesome game!
Most people see chess players as smart, logical and mathematical - that’s what you were thinking too, right? Many parents around the globe are eager to get their kids playing chess in order to boost their intelligence and help them succeed in school. We also wanted to give kids a fun way to learn chess while simultaneously enhancing their cognitive skills.
A study by Ramón Aciego et. al about the benefits of chess for intellectual and social-emotional enrichment in schoolchildren discovered that cognitive competencies, coping and problem-solving capacities were indeed bettered when playing chess regularly. The students (6-16 years old) who played chess improved significantly in the following tests (as opposed to those who didn’t play):
- Similarities
- Digits
- Block Design
- Object Assembly
- Mazes.
Further, general cognitive capacity aspects are improved by chess, for instance attention, resistance to distraction, perceptive organization, analysis, visuomotor coordination, planning, foresight and more. Playing chess contrasts with other intellectual programs as it requires instant decision-making and appraising alternatives.
Due to diverse intellectual (cognitive) skills being activated with chess, this game can be a valuable asset when introduced in classrooms.
Studies aside, we believe in using chess as a fun tool to make the world a smarter place, and that this game gives kids a solid foundation to support a lifelong love of chess. Not to mention, the skills they learn from chess could help them perform better in school and improve their self-esteem.
So...what are you waiting for? Download the app and get your kids learning chess today! We’ve dropped the price by a massive 50% during the World Championship so get in quick.
The Play Magnus Team
Sources:
https://theconversation.com/does-playing-chess-make-you-smarter-a-look-at-the-evidence-76062
http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/172/17223158011.pdf