Chess Research

The Saint Louis Chess Club is engaged in the following chess research activities:

• Commissioned a rigorous and comprehensive review of research on the overall impact of scholastic chess programs. The review can be used to inform education decision-makers about implementing effective educational programs in schools.
• Provides access to chess studies through its research portal.
• Invites researchers to share their insights and highlight trends in chess through its Blog.
• Partners with researchers to evaluate the Chess Club’s after-school scholastic chess program in school districts in Missouri.
• Engages a strong group of academic researchers and practitioners in a chess research advisory panel that provides guidance on methodology and strategies to facilitate new research on chess.

The positive mathematics and cognitive outcome results from in-school chess studies may be explained by the chess programs being incorporated into students’ weekly academic schedules, instruction during the school day leading to higher attendance rates and lower attrition, administering the program for an extended period of time, and connecting the intervention with math instruction and curriculum.

With assistance from our research partners, the Saint Louis Chess Club has designed assessments that are being piloted with students in after-school chess programs in St Louis, Missouri. The assessments look at three broad types of outcomes.

• First, the assessments determine if the after-school chess program experience is increasing students’ confidence in their ability to play chess.
• Second, the assessments measure if students are catching the chess “bug,” and will continue to make chess a part of their lives after the class concludes.
• Finally, the assessments measure the impact of chess on certain non-cognitive and character skills, such as increased school engagement and enjoyment, higher feelings of self-efficacy, and increased self-control and determination.

After learning from this pilot phase, the goal is to launch a more rigorous evaluation of our after-school chess programs, including an experimental study with a randomized treatment and control group.