Impact of Chess Learning on Processing Speed of School-Going Children

Abstract

Processing speed is one of the measures of cognitive efficiency. It refers to the ability to automatically and fluently execute relatively easy or overlearned cognitive tasks, especially when high mental efficiency is required. Contemporary research has shown that the speed of information processing is dynamically associated with mental capacity, reading performance, and development and reasoning by the conservation of cognitive resources and the efficient use of working memory. While the impact of chess training on intelligence and academic performance has been unequivocally established, its impact on processing speed needs to be researched. This study, funded by the, analyzed the effect of 1-year chess training on the processing speed of children. A pretest-posttest with control group design was used, with 88 children in the experimental group and 90 children in the control group. The sample was selected from children studying in four city schools (grades 3-9), which included both genders. The experimental group underwent weekly chess training for 1 year, while the control group was involved in extracurricular activities. Processing speed was measured by two subtests of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV India), namely Coding and Symbol Search. The training methodology comprised Winning Moves Chess Learning Program with the demonstration board, on-the-board playing and training, chess exercise through workbooks, and working with chess software. Analysis revealed significant gains in processing speed in the experimental group compared with the control group. The present study clearly establishes a link between chess training and processing speed. Enhancing processing speed in children is especially important because of its relationship to other cognitive and academic performance indicators. INTRODUCTION Processing speed relates to an individual's ability to perform simple repetitive cognitive tasks quickly and automatically [1]. It is a cognitive ability that could be defined as the time it takes a person to do a mental task and is related to the speed with which a person can understand and react to the information they receive, whether it be visual (letters and numbers), auditory (language), or movement. In other words, processing speed is the time between receiving and responding to a stimulus. Processing speed is one of the measures of cognitive efficiency or cognitive proficiency. It involves the ability to automatically and fluently perform relatively easy or overlearned cognitive tasks, especially when high mental efficiency is required. It relates to the ability to process information automatically and therefore speedily, without intentional thinking through. Processing speed is one of the main elements of the cognitive process, which is why it is one of the most important skills in learning, academic performance, intellectual development, reasoning, and experience. Slow processing speed means that some determined tasks will be more difficult than others, like reading, doing math, listening and taking notes, or holding conversations. It may also interfere with executive functions, as a person with slow processing speed will have a harder time planning, setting goals, making decisions, starting tasks, paying attention, etc. The higher the processing speed, the more efficiently you are able to think and learn. Processing speed could be one of the key processes underlying performance of cognitive tasks under pressure, such as recognizing simple visual patterns, visual exploration tasks, taking tests that require simple decision making, doing basic mathematical calculations, or manipulating numbers. The key to improving processing speed is based on making more solid connections in the brain, which allows the signals to travel faster among each other. Burns [2] distinguished between two types of mechanisms that may underlie chess skills. Fast mechanisms involve recognition and slow mechanisms refer to a search through the space of positive and negative moves. Speed of processing differentiates these two processes. They concluded that variation in fast processes accounts for substantial variations in chess skills. Chess experts are less affected by time constraints than novices. According to Ericsson and Lehmann [3] processing speed increases with expertise. Kiesel et al. [4] investigated whether expertise in certain stimulus domain improves perceptual processing to an extent that allows complex visual stimuli to bias behavior unconsciously. Chess experts, but not novice chess players, revealed a subliminal response priming effect, that is, faster responding when prime and target displays were congruent (both checking or both nonchecking) rather than incongruent. The authors conclude that long-term practice prompts the acquisition of visual memories of chess configurations with integrated form-location conjunctions. These perceptual chunks enable complex visual processing outside of conscious awareness. A number of studies have established that chess learning clearly improves cognitive functioning and academic performance. It is likely that an increase in processing speed is one of the basic factors that supports these gains. However, very few studies appear to have focused on the role of chess training in strengthening processing speed. Joseph et al. [5] assessed the impact of chess intervention on the IQ scores of children and analyzed the cognitive functions that contributed to the IQ gain. Eighty-six schoolchildren, boys and girls in the age group of 4-15 years, undergoing chess training in an academy, were

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Department!of!Psychology,!
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Z'BK,/"(>)Chess!training,!Cognitive!development,!Schoolchildren,!Processing!Speed)

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Processing!speed! relates! to!an!individual’s!ability!to!perform!simple!repetitive!cognitive! tasks!
quickly!and!automatically![1].!It!is!a!cognitive!ability!that!could!be!defined!as!the!time!it!takes!a!
person!to!do!a!mental!task!and!is!related!to!the!speed!with!which!a!person!can!understand!and!
react! to! the! information! they! receive,! whether! it! be! visual! (letters! and! numbers),! auditory!
(language),!or!movement.!In!other!words,!processing!speed!is!the!time!between!receiving!and!
responding!to!a!stimulus.!
!
Processing! speed! is! one! of! the! measures! of! cognitive! efficiency! or! cognitive! proficiency.! It!
involves! the! ability! to! automatically! and! fluently! perform! relatively! easy! or! overlearned!
cognitive! tasks,! especially! when! high! mental! efficiency! is! required.! It! relates! to! the! ability! to!
process! information! automatically! and! therefore! speedily,! without! intentional! thinking!
through.!Processing!speed!is!one!of!the!main!elements!of!the!cognitive!process,!which!is!why!it!
is! one! of! the! most! important! skills! in! learning,! academic! performance,! intellectual!
development,!reasoning,!and! experience.! Slow! processing!speed!means!that!some!determined!
tasks!will!be!more!difficult!than!others,!like!reading,!doing!math,!listening!and!taking!notes,!or!
holding! conversations.! It! may! also! interfere! with! executive! functions,! as! a! person! with! slow!
processing! speed! will! have! a! harder! time! planning,! setting! goals,! making! decisions,! starting!
tasks,!paying! attention,!etc.!The!higher!the!processing!speed,! the!more!efficiently!you!are!able!
to!think!and!learn.!
!
Processing!speed!could!be!one!of!the!key!processes!underlying!performance!of!cognitive!tasks!
under! pressure,! such! as! recognizing! simple! visual! patterns,! visual! exploration! tasks,! taking!
tests! that! require! simple! decision! making,! doing! basic! mathematical! calculations,! or!
manipulating!numbers.!The!key!to!improving!processing!speed!is!based!on!making!more!solid!
connections!in!the!brain,!which!allows!the!signals!to!travel!faster!among!each!other.!
!
Burns![2]!distinguished!between!two!types!of!mechanisms!that!may!underlie!chess!skills.!Fast!
mechanisms!involve!recognition!and! slow! mechanisms!refer!to!a! search! through!the!space!of!
positive! and! negative! moves.! Speed! of! processing! differentiates! these! two! processes.! They!
concluded! that! variation! in! fast! processes! accounts! for! substantial! variations! in! chess! skills.!
Chess! experts! are! less! affected! by! time! constraints! than! novices.! According! to! Ericsson! and!
Lehmann![3]!processing!speed!increases!with!expertise.!!
!
Kiesel!et!al.![4]!investigated!whether!expertise!in!certain!stimulus!domain!improves!perceptual!
processing! to! an! extent! that! allows! complex! visual! stimuli! to! bias! behavior! unconsciously.!
Chess!experts,!but!not!novice!chess!players,!revealed!a!subliminal!response!priming!effect,!that!
is,!faster! responding! when! prime! and!target! displays! were!congruent! (both!checking! or! both!
nonchecking)!rather!than!incongruent.!The!authors! conclude! that! long-term! practice! prompts!
the! acquisition! of! visual! memories! of! chess! configurations! with! integrated! form–location!
conjunctions.!These!perceptual!chunks!enable!complex!visual!processing!outside!of!conscious!
awareness.!
!
A! number! of! studies! have! established! that! chess! learning! clearly! improves! cognitive!
functioning!and!academic!performance.!It!is!likely!that!an!increase!in!processing!speed!is!one!
of! the! basic! factors! that! supports! these! gains.! However,! very! few! studies! appear! to! have!
focused!on!the!role!of!chess!training!in!strengthening!processing!speed.!
!
!Joseph! et! al.! [5]! assessed! the! impact! of! chess! intervention! on! the! IQ! scores! of! children! and!
analyzed!the!cognitive!functions!that!contributed!to!the!IQ!gain.!Eighty-six!schoolchildren,!boys!
and! girls! in! the! age! group! of! 4–15! years,! undergoing! chess! training! in! an! academy,! were!

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assessed!using! Binet–Kamat!Test!of!Intelligence.!Chess!intervention!consisted!of!standardized!
biweekly! training! sessions! of! 2! hours! duration! over! a! period! of! 1! year.! Paired! t-tests! and!
regression!analysis!were!carried!out.!Significant!increases!were!observed!in!IQ,!and!regression!
analysis!indicated!that!nonverbal!reasoning,!language,!and!memory!significantly!contributed!to!
the!dependent!variable!IQ.!!
!
It!is!hypothesized!that!systematic!chess!training!would!significantly!increase!processing!speed!
in!children.!The!objective!of!the!study!was!to!assess!the!impact!of!weekly!chess!training!on!the!
processing!speed!of!school-going!children.!
!
YIM]\=\F\H^)
The!research!design!used!for!the!study! was! pretest–posttest! with! control! group!design! [6,!7].!
The!independent!variable!was!the!chess!training!program!and!the!dependent!variable!was!!
processing!speed!of!children.!!
The!sample!consisted!of!school-going!children!with!88!children!in!the!experimental!group!and!
90!children!in!the! control! group.!The!children!were!selected! based! on!the!following!selection!
criteria:!
• Children!who!are!studying!in!schools!
• Both!genders!
• Age!range!between!6!and!14!years!(grades!3!to!9)!
!!
The!mean!age!for!the!experimental!group!was!10.93!years!(SD=2.49)!and!for!control!group!was!
11.15! years! (SD=2.33).! The! experimental! group! consisted! of! 38! girls! and! 50! boys! and! the!
control!group!consisted!of!33!girls!and!57!boys.!!
)
M,,-()
Assessment! of! processing! speed! was! carried! out! using! the! WISC-IV! [8]! assessment! tool.! The!
WISC-IV! is! an! individually! administered! clinical! instrument! for! assessing! cognitive! ability! of!
children!between!the!ages!from!6!years!to!16!years!11!months.!The! test!provided!subtest!and!
composite!scores!that!represented!intellectual!functioning!in!specific!cognitive!domains!as!well!
as!a! composite! score! that! represented! general! intellectual!ability.! The!WISC-IV! took! 1½! to! 2!
hours!to!complete.!To!ensure!accurate!assessment!of!the!variables,!an!Indian!edition!of!WISC-
IV!was!used.! WISC-IV!India!combined!the!benefits!of!the!most!recent!version!of!the!WISC! and!
was!adapted!to!be!more!relevant!for!India.!!
!
Scores!on!the!coding!subtest!and!the!symbol!search!subtest!yielded!the!processing!speed!index.!
!
Key!features!include:!
•!Culture-appropriate!items!
•!Norms!for!children!in!India!
•!Increased!developmental!appropriateness!
•!Increased!emphasis!on!composite!scores!
•!Increased!attention!to!working!memory!and!processing!speed!
•!More!user-friendly!administration!and!scoring!
•!Reflects!current!theory!and!practice!of!cognitive!assessment!of!children!
!
@0'(()M/$*%*%C)Y'<0,",-,CB)
The!training!methodology!comprised!of!Winning!Moves!Chess!Learning!Program![9]!Episodes!
1–22,!lectures!with!the!demonstration!board,!on-the-board!playing!and!training,!chess!exercise!
through! workbooks! (Chess! school! 1A,! Chess! school! 2,! and! tactics),! and! working! with! chess!
software.! Further! students’! games! were! mapped! using! chess! base! software! and! the! brain!

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patterns!of!the!child!were!understood.!They!were!taught!the!ideas!behind!chess!openings!and!
were! exposed! to! classical! games.! The! children! participated! in! mock! as! well! as! regular!
tournaments.!
!
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Baseline! assessment! of! processing! speed! was! done! after! obtaining! informed! consent.!
Reassessment!was! carried!after! an! average! duration! of!1! year.!Psychologists! were!trained! to!
administer!the!test!in! a! uniform!standardized!method!to! minimize! the!testing!error.!Children!
with!an!IQ!below!80!(WISC-IV!India!edition)!were!excluded!from!the!sample.!
!
Clustering!technique!was!used!to!form!the!training!groups!of!6!to!8!children.!The!chess!training!
consisted!of!once!a!week!chess!classes!conducted!for!1!hour!during!school!hours!at!the!end!of!
the!day.!The! children! were!given!a!standardized! Winning! Moves!Chess!Learning! Program! [9]!
and!played!at!tournaments!also.!
!
.I+[FM+)
The!analysis!was!carried!out!using!SPSS.!Analysis!of!covariance!was!carried!out!to!establish!the!
significance!of!the!difference!between!the!experimental!and!control! groups! on! the!processing!
speed!scores!following!intervention,!holding!the!preintervention!scores!as!covariate.!
"
M$;-')R>)+*C%*E*&$%&'),E)<0')"*EE'/'%&');'<K''%)<0')D'$%(),E)<0')'NA'/*D'%<$-)$%")&,%</,-)
C/,2A(),%)A/,&'((*%C)(A''")2(*%C)$%$-B(*(),E)&,#$/*$%&')
Scores!
Assessment!
Mean!and!Standard!Deviation!
Processing!
speed!
Pre!
Experimental!
Control!
96.705!
(13.592)!
96.200!
(14.372)!
Post!
103.841!
(13.550)!
99.811!
(14.430)!
"
ANCOVA"Between"Experimental"Group"and"Control"Group"on"Processing"Speed"at"
Postintervention"
!
Sources!of!Variance!!
Sum!of!
Squares!
df"
Mean!
Square!
F"
Sig.!
Corrected!model!
16,098.206a!
2!
8,049.103!
73.633!
0.000!
Intercept!
5,073.88!
1!
5,073.88!
46.416!
0.000!
Preprocessing!speed!
15,375.65!
1!
15,375.65!
140.656!
0.000!
EXPCON!
606.547!
1!
606.547!
5.549!
0.02!
Error!
19,129.91!
175!
109.314!
!
!
Total!
1,880,007!
178!
!
!
!
Corrected!total!
35,228.12!
177!
!!
!!
!!
!
Table! 1! indicates! that! there! was! a! significant! effect! of! intervention! on! processing! speed! at!
postintervention! (p<0.02).! This! shows! that! the! mean! processing! speed! increased! in! the!
experimental!group!following!intervention,!compared!with!the!control!group.!!
!
=?+@[++?\8)
The!results!clearly!demonstrate!that! chess! training!has!increased!the!processing!speed! of! the!
children! who! underwent! chess! training! when! compared! with! the! control! group.! Processing!

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speed!has! been! assessed!using! the! Coding!subtest! (the! child!copies! the! symbol!that! is! paired!
with!geometric! shapes! or!numbers! using!a!key! within!a! specified! time!limit)! and! the!Symbol!
Search! subtest! (where! the! child! scans! a! search! group! and! indicates! whether! the! target!
symbol(s)!matches!any!of!the!symbols!in!the!search!group!within!a!specified!time!limit).!!
!
Earlier! studies! have! reported! that! chess! playing! has! resulted! in! increased! working! memory!
and! perceptual! reasoning! skills! [10,! 11].! It! is! possible! that! enhancement! of! these! cognitive!
functions!could!have!possibly!led!to!an!increase!in!the!processing!speed!of!children.!A!clear!link!
between! working! memory,! processing! speed,! and! reasoning! has! been! established! by! clinical!
research!in!developmental!cognitive!neuropsychology![12].!!
!
Alternatively,! it! is! possible! that! chess! intervention! directly! influences! the! processing! speed!
ability.!Chess!playing!includes!two!methods!of!processing!information!and!decision!making!on!
every!single!move.!They!are!either!by!judgment!or!by!calculation.!Certain!position!requires!just!
the!positional!knowledge!to!make!a! move.! For!instance,!which!side!to!castle,!where! to! attack,!
where!the!point!of! action! is,!etc.!Certain!tactical! positions!require!detailed! calculations! of!the!
various! options! and! outcomes! that! could! possibly! evolve! out! of! each! candidate! move.! A!
candidate!move!is!one!of!the!moves!that!the!chess!player!thinks!to!be!analyzed!in!detail!at!any!
given!position!using!the!tree!method!of!thinking.!
!
Burns! [2]! emphasized! that! variation! in! fast! processes! accounts! for! substantial! variations! in!
chess!skills.!According!to!Ericsson!and!Lehmann![3],!processing!speed!increases!with!expertise.!
De! Groot! et! al.! [13]! highlighted! the! chess! master’s! striking! ability! to! quickly! capture,! and! to!
retain! and! recall,! the! information! contained! in! an! unknown,! complex! chess! position:! its! gist!
and! its! structure,! up! to! the! precise! location! of! almost! all! chess! pieces.! This! speed! in!
understanding! a! position! is! obviously! a! basic! element! of! the! master’s! expertise! and!
characterizes! one’s!way! of! thinking! in! general.! Increased! processing! speed! scores! (as!
measured! by! the! coding! and! symbol! search! subtest)! could! in! addition! reflect! increases! in!
short-term! memory,! visual! scanning! ability,! visual! and! sequential! processing,! visual–motor!
coordination,! cognitive! flexibility,! visual! discrimination,! and! concentration! and! planning! and!
learning!ability,!following!intervention![14,!15].!
!
Processing!speed!has!been!identified!as!an!important!domain!of!cognitive!functioning!in!factor!
analytical!studies!of!cognitive!abilities![16].!It!may!be!important!to!both!assess!and!sharpen!the!
processing! speed! in! children! because! of! its! relation! to! neurological! development,! other!
cognitive! abilities,! and! learning.! Improvements! in! children’s! performance! on! measures! of!
processing!speed!are!mirrored!by!age-related!changes!in!the!number!of!transient! connections!
in!the!nervous!system!and!increase!in!myelination![17].!
!
Identifying! increases! in! processing! speed! following! chess! intervention! provides! us! with! a!
framework!to!appreciate!the!impact!of! chess! on! the!broader,!global!capacities!that!have!been!
extensively! researched.! Processing! speed! is! a! critical! ingredient! in! optimal! cognitive!
functioning.!
!
?Y:F?@!M?\8+)
The!role!played!by! chess! training!in!increasing!processing!speed! has! been!clearly!established!
in!this!study.!This!is!a!significant!finding!as!processing!speed!ability!contributes!significantly!by!
conserving!cognitive!resources!and!efficiently!using!the!working!memory!for!higher!order!fluid!
tasks.!The!link!between!chess!and!processing!speed!needs!to!be!further!researched!in!order!to!
clearly!understand!its!potential!benefits!and!its!implications!in!education.!!
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