Chess as a developmental educational environment for primary school children

The article examines the potential of chess as a developmental educational environment for children of primary school age. The aim of the study was to identify the influence of systematic extracurricular chess lessons on the formation of cognitive processes and elements of voluntary self-regulation. The participants were first-grade students (n = 32), divided into experimental and control groups. The chess program included mastering basic rules, introductory tactical elements, and practicing game situations with verbalized planning and decision-making. The results demonstrated significant improvements in attention, short-term and long-term memory, logical reasoning, and academic performance in mathematics and reading in the experimental group compared to the control group. The findings confirm the effectiveness of incorporating chess into extracurricular activities as a condition for the development of cognitive skills in primary school children.