# How Chess Teaches Kids to Make Smart Decisions — On the Board and in Life > Every move in chess is a small decision with a real consequence — and that's exactly why the game is so good for kids aged 6 to 13. Here's what a major university study and a record-breaking 10-year-old can teach us about raising braver, smarter thinkers. _By Akash Mitra · Jul 30, 2026_ # How Chess Teaches Kids to Make Smart Decisions — On the Board and in Life In August 2025, a 10-year-old girl named Bodhana Sivanandan sat across the board from a 60-year-old chess grandmaster named Peter Wells. By the end of the game, she had won. She became the youngest female player in history to defeat a grandmaster. Bodhana started playing chess when she was only five years old. In just five years, she went from learning how the pieces move to beating one of the strongest players in the world. Stories like this grab headlines. But the real story isn't about becoming a champion. It's about what happens inside a child's mind, move after move, game after game — and that is something every child can benefit from, not just future prodigies. ## Every Move Is a Tiny Decision Here is something simple but powerful about chess: nothing happens by luck. There is no dice roll, no lucky card, no referee's whistle. Every single move is a choice the child makes. And every choice has a consequence. This might sound small. But researchers believe this simple fact is what makes chess so good for young minds. In 2021, researchers from Monash University and Deakin University in Australia wanted to find out if chess could actually change how children think about risk. They ran a study with more than 400 ten and eleven-year-old students who had never played chess before. The children took part in a 30-hour chess course over three weeks. The results, published in the *Journal of Development Economics*, were striking. The children who learned chess became less afraid of taking risks. They also became better at math and logical thinking. And here is the best part: when researchers checked back on these children almost a year later, the changes were still there. Ten months after the course ended, the researchers asked the children how they felt about chess. Almost every child — 99 percent — said they wanted more chess lessons. Nearly 95 percent had played chess with a classmate in the past week. And close to 90 percent said they regularly played chess with friends or family. One of the lead researchers, Professor Asad Islam, explained why this matters so much. In chess, players often have to give up a pawn or a piece on purpose, hoping it will lead to a bigger win later. This is called a "sacrifice." Learning when a risk is worth taking — and when it isn't — is a skill children will use for their entire lives, whether they are choosing a career path, trying a new sport, or simply deciding whether to speak up in class. ## Losing a Game Without Losing Confidence Here's something every parent notices sooner or later: kids don't love losing. But in chess, losing happens to everyone, even world champions. The difference is in how a child learns to handle it. Because every move in chess is the child's own decision, a loss cannot be blamed on bad luck or an unfair referee. This can feel hard at first. But over time, something wonderful happens. Children start to look back at their games calmly. They begin to ask, "What could I have done differently?" instead of "Why did this happen to me?" This habit — reviewing a mistake without feeling ashamed of it — is one of the most valuable skills a child can carry into school, sports, and friendships. A game that ends in checkmate today becomes a lesson for the next game tomorrow. ## A Small Nudge Toward Better Focus Too Chess also asks children to slow down and think before they act. This is especially helpful for children who find it hard to sit still or wait their turn. A 2023 review of scientific studies on chess and attention found that structured chess lessons can help reduce symptoms in children who struggle with focus, by giving them regular, low-pressure practice at pausing before making a move. ## Chess Is Growing Around the World Countries are noticing the benefits too. Armenia and Poland have already made chess lessons a required part of primary school. In India, an estimated 17 million children now take part in school chess programs, especially in states like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Parents everywhere are realizing the same thing: chess isn't just a hobby. It's a quiet, powerful way to help a child grow into a calmer, more thoughtful decision-maker. ## Your Child Doesn't Need to Become a Champion Bodhana Sivanandan's story is inspiring, but your child does not need to beat a grandmaster to benefit from chess. The real win happens quietly, over many small games — in the pause before a move, in the calm reaction after a loss, in the moment a child says, "Let me think about this first." That is a skill no worksheet can teach as naturally as a chessboard can. ## Start Today With PrimeChess At PrimeChess.org, our online chess classes are designed especially for children aged 6 to 13. Your child will learn from friendly, patient coaches, play with other kids their age, and build the kind of thinking skills that last a lifetime — all from the comfort of home. You don't need any chess experience to get started, and neither does your child. All it takes is one first move.