What does learning chess do for children’s brains?

Many parents turn to chess as a quiet, thoughtful game for their children. It teaches focus, patience, and strategy. But what actually happens in a child’s brain when they play chess regularly? In recent years, neuroscientists have begun to study how the brain responds to chess, especially in experienced players. Their findings suggest that chess does more than develop skills — it may help shape the way a child’s brain functions and grows.

Today, we will look at how chess lessons influence the brain, based on scientific studies involving brain imaging, cognitive science, and developmental psychology. While most research has been conducted with adults, the results give us a clear understanding of what may be happening in children’s brains too, especially because their brains are still developing and highly adaptable.

Chess and brain activity

Chess is a complex game that uses many areas of the brain. During play, the brain has to process visual information, recall past patterns, plan several moves ahead, and respond to an opponent’s decisions. Brain imaging studies confirm that chess activates a wide network of areas, including:

• The frontal lobes, which support planning and decision-making
• The parietal lobes, involved in spatial reasoning
• The occipital lobes, which process visual details
• The temporal lobes, used for memory

These are not isolated actions. During a game, the brain constantly shifts between different types of thinking. A study by clinical neurologist Enrico Premi looked at expert chess players using functional MRI (fMRI) scans. They found that chess players showed stronger and more flexible connections between different brain regions compared to non-players. Their brains moved between different “network states” more often, suggesting greater adaptability in handling complex problems.

This adaptability is called dynamic functional connectivity — the ability of the brain to reconfigure itself during rest and problem-solving. The researchers concluded that years of chess training may increase the brain’s ability to switch between tasks and respond more effectively to challenges. For children, who are still developing these skills, regular chess play could support the development of these flexible brain functions at an earlier age.

How chess reshapes brain structure

In addition to changes in how the brain works, there is also evidence that chess affects the physical structure of the brain. While this has mostly been studied in adults, the results suggest that chess training can lead to long-term brain adaptations.

A study by the Jürgen Hänggi Hänggi (as reported in Wired, 2014) looked at the brains of elite chess players using MRI scans. Interestingly, the researchers found that some areas of the brain had less grey matter than in non-players. This included regions like the occipito-temporal junction, which is involved in recognising objects and visual processing.

Although it may sound negative, this reduction is not a sign of loss. In neuroscience, smaller volume in specific areas can indicate that the brain has become more efficient by removing unnecessary connections. In this case, the reduced grey matter likely reflects more focused and streamlined processing, which is common in highly trained tasks.

In the same study, the players also had more organised white-matter pathways, specifically in the superior longitudinal fasciculus, a tract connecting areas responsible for visual input and strategic planning. This suggests that their brains were not only working better during chess tasks, but were also structurally adapted to do so more efficiently.

For children, this is significant. Their brains are still forming these networks. Engaging in structured mental activities like chess may help them build stronger and more efficient pathways in the same regions, especially those used for attention, memory, and planning.

Brain plasticity and early learning

The concept behind all this is called neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to adapt and reorganise itself in response to experience. In childhood, neuroplasticity is at its highest. This means the kinds of activities children do regularly can leave a lasting mark on how their brains develop.

Chess activates several important cognitive functions at once: visual-spatial skills, working memory, reasoning, and emotional control. These are the same functions that are still developing in childhood. By practising chess regularly, children are likely strengthening the brain circuits involved in these areas.

While we do not yet have brain imaging studies focused specifically on children learning chess, studies from related areas give a strong indication of what is likely happening. For example, children who train in music or learn multiple languages often show improved structure and function in similar brain areas. The evidence from chess studies in adults suggests that children’s brains would be just as — if not more — sensitive to these changes, because they are in a key stage of growth.

Long-Term Implications

One reason researchers are interested in how chess changes the brain is that these changes may transfer to other tasks. For example, the areas of the brain strengthened by chess are also involved in academic subjects like maths, reading, and science. There is some evidence that chess improves performance in these areas, particularly mathematics (Sala et al., 2017). This may be because the same brain networks are involved in abstract thinking and problem-solving.

Additionally, the brain functions that improve with chess — like attention control and flexible thinking — are also linked to better emotional regulation and decision-making. These skills can benefit children not just in school, but in everyday situations where they need to manage frustration, think ahead, or evaluate options.

It is important to point out that not every child will experience the same changes or benefits. The amount of time spent on chess, the way it is taught, and the child’s own interests all play a role. But when taught in a supportive and consistent way, chess has the potential to support brain development in ways that go beyond the game itself.

To Conclude…

Chess is often seen as a useful educational activity, but the neuroscience behind it shows that the effects may go deeper than many realise. Studies using brain scans have found that expert chess players show more efficient and better-connected brain networks. These changes support key mental functions such as memory, attention, and planning.

Although most of this research has been done with adults, the results suggest that children’s developing brains may also benefit from regular chess practice. Because their brains are still growing and highly adaptable, introducing chess during this time may help strengthen the foundations for many cognitive skills. These include not only better focus and problem-solving, but also improved emotional regulation and flexible thinking.

For parents, this means that encouraging a child to play chess isn’t just about learning the rules of a game. It may be one way to support long-term mental development — quietly, steadily, and through a familiar activity that challenges the brain in just the right way.

References:

• Premi, E. et al. (2020). Enhanced dynamic functional connectivity in chess experts. Scientific Reports, 10, 7051.
• Hänggi, J. et al. (2014). Structural brain differences in elite chess players. (Reported in Wired).
• Sala, G. et al. (2017). The effects of chess instruction on pupils’ cognitive and academic skills: State of the art and theoretical challenges. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 238.