As Chess instruction in schools has been used in the classroom as part of the regular curriculum, enrichment or activity for special needs students, many stakeholders have questions such as “What exactly are the measurable educational objectives of a chess classroom?”

Chess, through academic research, has proven to be a valuable tool for improving performance in other subject areas such as Mathematics. Hence, most people would buy into the cognitive benefits of Chess as it is a brain game.

There are also Affective skills and Psychomotor Skills that are often overlooked in School Chess Education.

Often in Chess a Chess match and training session, a student has to use all areas to be an effective player and learner. To win his opponent, he needs to have psychomotor skills (moving pieces in time pressure, reflexes combined with evaluation/intuition), Cognitive Skills (calculation, technique) and Affective Skills (bouncing back from losses, social skills). Below we will see in greater detail what Chess encompasses.

“First of all even if you can make it in Chess, your social skills need to be developed there”

Viswanathan Anand (World Champion, 2007 – 2013)

Cognitive Domain 

Knowledge

• Name all the chessmen
• Describe the moves of the pieces.
• Describe the special moves (castling, en passant, promotion, capture)
• Demonstrate moves on a chessboard, demo board or the screen
• Identify openings by names
• Explain the difference between Stalemate and Checkmate
• Identify an illegal move
• Recite rules of proper development of the Chess pieces
• Name and identify each chess square
• Write the algebraic abbreviations for each piece
• Translate what various chess symbols mean

Comprehension

• Summarize in his or her own words, the importance of central squares, development and other principles of Chess
• Explain the method of performing an x-ray attack, fork and double-attack
• Find the necessary move in a lesson (capture, mate in 1,2,3 e.t.c)
• Explain why some pieces are better than others, materially and positionally
• Give reasons why certain moves are better than others
• Explain why King Safety is important and how you insure it
• Demonstrate why pieces are better in the center
• Show the consequences of a certain move

Application

• Demonstrate, by playing; a proper knowledge of the rules of Chess
• Demonstrate, by playing; a proper understanding of the general rules of thinking about a move selection (e.g. candidate moves)
• Demonstrate, by playing; a proper understanding of the general rules of the opening phase of a Chess game
• Solve a Chess Problem/Puzzle/Study/Miniature
• Show on the demo board/screen a good move or move asked by Instructor
• Classify an opening as open, semi-open or closed
• Show another student how to do something
• After being shown what to do in one position, demonstrate how to apply a similar move in a different position

Analysis

• Analyze a position and suggest a good move
• Separate good moves from bad moves during move selection thinking
• Verbalize certain piece placement or pawn structure patterns when shown a position
• Break down a position into parts to think about (checks, captures, pawn structures, threats forced moves, e.t.c)
• Following a certain thinking pattern for each move (for example, looking at all checks and captures)
• Describe the relationships among the pieces (e.g. how they are cooperating to help with your position and how they are not cooperating e.t.c)
• Write down (or tell) what mistakes or good moves you made in the game you played.

Synthesis

• After analyzing a position put together a series of moves that would improve your position.
• Answer a “what if” question.
• If shown a series of moves, make a general statement about these moves
• Prepare a list of candidate moves after analyzing a position
• Put together a plan to win in the middle game or end game
• Effective tell what happened in your game as to why you won or lost

Evaluation

• Evaluate a position (Strengths, weaknesses, positional/material advantage)
• Evaluate the candidate moves for a game
• Recommend the best move in a  position that does not end in a Checkmate
• Able to defend argument on why a Chess move is good or bad
• Compare the game the student played with a master game that is similar in opening
• Evaluate if it is worth taking a risky variation in context; is my round points sensitive and time management while balancing risk-taking with logical evaluation

Affective Domain 

Receiving (Attending)

• Demonstrate an awareness of “beautiful” move
• Demonstrate a willingness to listen and empathize with the instructor at the demo board/screen and during Chess training/sparring
• Demonstrate a willingness to listen to other students about aspects of play
• Show a preference for some openings over others
• Show a preference for some pieces over others

Responding

• Show a willingness to comply with the rules of play and sportsmanship 
• Accepting responsibility for the care of the chessboard and pieces
• Ask questions during a demo board/screen lesson
• Play Chess with all students in a proper way
• Recount experiences of playing chess outside the classroom
• Express happiness with the game of chess

Values

• Demonstrate a belief in playing fairly
• Demonstrate a belief in properly resolving any differences with an opponent during the game
• Display sportsmanship at all times
• Win or lose graciously
• Assume responsibility for properly putting everything away and the classroom neat and tidy
• Express a desire to go beyond the  lessons and learn more about Chess

Organization

• Identify the characteristics of a chess position or problem whose solution he/she admires
• Develop a way of resolving how to handle his/her feelings about losing with showing good sportsmanship while maintaining peak performance and competitiveness
• Develop a way of making sure that they have a proper mental discipline about the thinking process in choosing the best moves

Characterization by a Value or Value Complex

• Display a readiness to change one’s mind when shown objectively better moves
• Making move choices based on methods and skills learned rather than hoping or dreaming that your opponent will play badly
• Maintain an attitude from class to class that emphasizes a willingness to learn, to learn from mistakes and to cheerfully participate regardless of restules

Psychomotor Domain 

• Take pieces out of their containers without damage to the pieces or spilling
• Account for all the pieces before putting them in their container
• Put all the pieces back into the container without damage to the pieces or spilling
• Know what pieces or pieces might be missing
• Set up the chessboard correctly
• Place the pieces on the chessboard correctly
• Recognize the individual pieces themselves when differently presented e.g. on a chessboard, on a demo board/screen, pages or any flat surfaces
• Properly place the pieces on the right destination squares
• Place pieces properly off the board after captures and pressing the chess clock in accordance to the World Chess Federation (FIDE) rules
• Properly promote a piece
• Write down the score of the game properly. These require a subset of skills:

      –    One that stand’s out is proper time-management in budgeting time for thinking, anticipating opponent moves

     –     Move pieces on the demonstration board or screen in a proper manner

     –     Set the times on a chess clock (optional)

     –     Demonstrate how to operate a chess clock (optional)

References:

Teaching Chess Step by Step (Teacher’s Manual Book 1)