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January 09, 2012|By Harold Dondis and Patrick Wolff

The second George Koltanowski Memorial Conference on Chess and Education, named in memory of the Belgium-American chess player, is an unusual institution dedicated to the cognitive and psychological aspects of chess and the use of chess in the schools. It meets annually and is sponsored by the US Chess Trust, the University of Texas at Dallas, the Texas Chess Association, and the US Chess Federation. Its conference was held in early November in Dallas. At that conference, some 20 papers were presented, providing a broad range of studies, reports, and conclusions on aspects of the learning process and chess.

It must be said that most of the authors of these papers are supporters of the use of chess in education. Some are chess instructors and have a stake in reporting affirmative results. But many are simply teachers who find chess helpful. There are no large studies that establish this, but many small studies do. The conference presents a dizzying array of subjects, which may perhaps be broken down into a few categories. They include study of the brain in chess and other cognitive functioning, pattern recognition, the use of chess in education, the relationship of chess to problem solving, the experience of teachers in schools, and reports on chess clubs and activities.

Apparently, much research is devoted to the locations of the portions of the brain that operate various functions. Dr. Stephen Lipschutz reported the somewhat stunning conclusion that executive functioning, located in the brain’s frontal lobe, which includes cognitive flexibility, inhibition, working memory, problem-solving, reasoning, and planning, is more important for school readiness and predictive ability than is IQ. Papers were presented on pattern recognition, facial patterns, and the effect of inversion of patterns on recognition.

On an educational level, there are an abundance of reports that chess can be used to stimulate learning and performance in schools. It may be that chess makes use of play to capture students and in the process the students learn helpful mental habits. One paper reported that children actually go back to school in the summer to attend educational classes that also offer chess instruction. A serious international effort is going on at Cambridge University, as reported on by Dr. Teresa Parr, to determine what chess can do for learning. David Barrett offered that his evaluation of a 30-week chess instructional program provided empirical support of the value of chess in instruction, especially in special education services in math. He concedes, however, that the sample for this study was of a small size.

The Koltanowski Conference is a dignified attempt to understand the phenomenon of learning and chess, and perhaps to point to future directions for understanding the human mind.

Brevity: F. Fernandez vs. Almeyra (1992) 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.f4 d5 4.exd5 e4 5.d3 Bb4 6.Bd2 e3 7.Bxe3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nxd5 9.0-0-0 Qe7 10.Bf2 Bxc3 11.Qe2 Qb4; 0-1

Winners: Sturgis Memorial, Wachusett CC: 1st-2d, Robert King and Larry Gladding, 4.5-0.5, 3d, Arthur Barlas, 4-1; Boylston Christmas Eve, Quads, Quad #1: 1st, Vikas Shiva 3.0.

Coming Events: Jan. 13, Waltham CC Triskaidekaphobia #10, 404 Wyman St., Waltham; Jan. 14, Saturday Night Action, 201 Wayland Ave., Providence, jorge@chessmasterconnections.org.