Correlation between Attentional Abilities and Spatial Orientation in Children Who Study Chess in School

Abstract

The role of attention in chess is obvious because the game is an ongoing battle between two players whose main purpose is to checkmate the opponent’s king. Every single move represents a decision that cannot be changed and therefore the ability to concentrate and maintain attention for a limited period of time is essential. Compared to other sports, the game of chess can be played on the Internet, so physical presence does not limit its development. By using the computer, chess is played in better conditions because there is no space limit for people involved in the tournament. The main focus of the game is to move slowly but steadily to another direction. Besides the fact that chess helps to develop intellectual abilities, it can also play a role in the psychomotor development. Twenty third-grade children were selected and equally divided into two parts, the experimental group, and the control group. The Bender-Santucci test (spatial orientation), Kraepelin test, and Toulouse-Pieron test (attentional abilities) were applied to observe the role played by chess in children’s learning process. The independent samples t-test was used to highlight the statistical difference between the results. The Pearson correlation was also used for both groups to emphasize the level of correlation between the two tests. The experimental group recorded better results in both tests, and these results were statistically correlated.