If you’re looking for brain development activities that your kids will actually get excited about, chess is a great place to start. A lifelong skill that will entertain and educate for decades, chess has long been a favorite board game around the world.
When should you introduce your kids to chess? Kids as young as two will want to play with the “horsies” and royalty, and a few four year olds will pick up the game itself, but most kids will be best off learning at about seven or eight.
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Here are 7 reasons to get your kid chess sets for sale today:
Exercises the Brain
Chess is a game of strategy. Chess sets are often used in movies to indicate that a character is capable of planning, for example, a brilliant heist or power play. Stereotyped as the pastime of intellectuals for a reason, the only luck involved is in how capable and focused your opponent is. The brain needs exercise like any part of the body, and games are a great way to trick kids into exercise of all kinds.
Helps Develop Cognitive Skills
Chess provides an opportunity to develop a range of cognitive skills your kids need for academic success. From day one, playing chess requires kids to call up greater focus. Analyzing the board throughout a game calls on visual processing skills. Considering possible moves and counter moves requires strategic thinking. Taking the time to do all this analyzing and strategizing requires kids to learn mental self-control and patience.
Increases Test Scores
Studies show that kids who regularly use their chess sets score higher on tests. This is true not only on tests of general intelligence, but also on math and reading exams. This is good news for two reasons: first, higher scores give kids more options for their future, and second, these studies indicate learning chess has an effect on kids well outside the immediate skill set learned.
Improves Creative Thinking
Chess combines analytical and creative thinking. As kids progress in the field, they will begin to consider wilder moves and attempt to break out of the expected patterns so as to surprise and overtake their opponents.
Provides New Social Opportunities
Speaking of those opponents, chess is actually a great way to make new friends. From chess club at school to sitting down with a stranger at the local park, bonding over a chess set is a time-honored tradition. People of all ages and physical states can play, making it a particularly good game for intergenerational bonding.
Rewards Effort Over Time
Learning chess is a life-long process. The patience exercised in the course of a single game is just the start. Kids will learn the benefit of practice and study as they improve their game over years.
Just Plain Fun
Games should be fun, and for that matter learning should be fun, too!
Chess Sets: A Great Gift
There’s nothing to lose and so much to gain in teaching your kids chess. Pick up a chess set for the family today, and see the benefits roll in for years to come.
