WHAT IS CHESS FOR LIFE?
Chess for Life is a restorative justice program that has been officially recognized by Alberta Justice. As an alternative sentencing measure, youth come to the University of Lethbridge for 25 hours of chess instruction.
Chess is used as the vehicle for change because it provides safe and structured opportunities for youth to practice and develop skills such as:
Inhibitory Control (look before you leap)
Working memory (keeping things in mind to complete a task)
Cognitive flexibility (think about good alternatives)
These are all executive functions which are a better predictor of life success than IQ or education. Chess also promotes other executive functions such as self-regulation and planning ahead. For more information on executive functions, head to the research section.
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A chessboard has 64 squares or spaces. Each square or space, is important. Chess players have to use each space well. Games have been won and lost over one unprotected square.
Not unlike the spaces on the chessboard, we need to use our other spaces well: workspace, home-space, headspace, etc.
Chess for Life is a safe space for youth to gain valuable life skills while learning to think, think and think some more before they move. -
In chess, we only have so much time, and such is the same in life.
In Chess for Life, youth learn the value of time management. Whether it’s playing a game of chess or getting through a day, one needs to start it well, progress through it thoughtfully, and end it successfully. Chess for Life teaches about how to move through key times in a game: the opening, middle and endgame. As in life, there are good ways and not-so-good ways of managing these times. -
Like any organization, in chess, all the parts need to work together in harmony to ensure it can run well.
Over the board (OTB), everyone has 16 chess pieces. To achieve their common goal (checkmating the opponent’s king), they all need to work together, and move in harmony with one another. In chess, as in life, when there is disharmony, common goals are rarely achieved.
Chess for Life strives to re-establish and restore harmony among all members of a community. The program tries to nurture skills and ways of thinking that encourage youth to work in harmony with their surroundings, communities, families, etc.
Chess 4 Life: A Rehabilitation Strategy For At-Risk Youth
Chess For Life tells the story of a program in which at-risk youth learn the art of chess instead of traditional community service.
The research
Chess for Life has experienced a great deal of success since its inception in 2016. Now, we are looking at the quantitative data to support the qualitative and anecdotal data from the past few years.
We propose that one of the reasons behind the success of Chess for Life is an improvement in executive functions. These are critical skills that allow us plan ahead, hold items in mind, inhibit responses as well as regulate our emotions. We are testing these skills before and after the 25 chess intervention to ascertain if these skills do improve.
While this research is still in process, below are some research papers that support the concept of chess being using to build various skills, in various age groups.
Building adolescent ef through a play-based curriculum
A scientific poster that introduces the concept behind the research on Chess for Life and Building Brains Together Adolescent program. See reference page for further chess related research.
Author: Jade Oldfield
Chess for life: analyZing ef in at-risk adolescent populations
A scientific poster that provides a case study on a Chess for Life participant and elaborates on testing and hypotheses.
Author: Rylee Weavers & Jonathan Roussel
Chess for life “one-pager”
A one-page overview of the background and overview of the Chess for Life research hypothesis and goals.
Author: Jade Oldfield
