The practice of chess improves the attention of teenagers aged 10 to 15
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1981-4690.2025e39222515Palavras-chave:
Stroop test, Trail Making Test, Adolescence, Attention, ChessResumo
Cognitive stimuli are present in chess as part of game strategy and planning moves. Attention plays an important role in chess since players must always monitor their moves and those of their opponents. In turn, it is known that adolescents have difficulty maintaining their attention while performing different tasks. Therefore, we investigated the effect of practicing chess on adolescents’ attention. Twenty adolescents (10-15 years) were divided into two groups: chess players and non-chess players. They performed two tests to assess attention: the Stroop Test (Parts 1 to 3) and the Trail Making Test (Parts A and B). Chess players had significantly better results than non-chess players in both tests. We concluded that practicing chess improves attention in adolescents and can be a pleasant and playful way to enhance attention in adolescents.
Downloads
Referências
1. Diamond A. Executive functions. Annu Rev Psychol. 2013;64:135-68.
2. Hommel B, Chapman CS, Cisek P, Neyedli HF, Song JH, Welsh TN. No one knows what attention is. Atten Percept Psychophys. 2019;81(7):2288-303.
3. Luria AR. Fundamentos de Neuropsicologia. 1. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Livros Técnicos e Científicos; 1981. p. 346.
4. Guadagnini MF, Simão ANP. Investigação da atenção de adolescentes que apresentam mau desempenho escolar. Rev Psicopedagogia. 2016;33(102):251-61.
5. Lima RF, Mello RJL, Massoni I, Ciasca SM. Dificuldades de aprendizagem: queixas escolares e diagnósticos em um Serviço de Neurologia Infantil. Rev Neurociências. 2006;14(4):185-90.
6. Aciego R, García L, Betancort M. The benefits of chess for the intellectual and social-emotional enrichment in schoolchildren. Span J Psychol. 2012;15(2):551-9.
7. Cibeira N, Lorenzo-López L, Maseda A, Blanco-Fandiño J, López-López R, Millán-Calenti JC. Effectiveness of a chess-training program for improving cognition, mood, and quality of life in older adults: A pilot study. Geriatr Nurs. 2021;42(4):894-900.
8. Blasco-Fontecilla H, Gonzalez-Perez M, Garcia-Lopez R, Poza-Cano B, Perez-Moreno MR,Leon-Martinez V, et al. Efficacy of chess training for the treatment of ADHD: A prospective, open label study. Rev Psiquiatr Salud Ment. 2016;9(1):13-21.
9. Baddeley A. Working Memory. Science. 1992;255(5044):556-9.
10. Velea T, Cojocaru V. The effect of playing chess on focused attention. In: European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences. Romania: Future Academy; 2019. Available from: https://www.europeanproceedings.com/article/10.15405/epsbs.2019.02.84.
11. Wang Y, Zuo C, Wang D, Tao S, Hao L. Reduced thalamus volume and enhanced thalamus and fronto-parietal network integration in chess experts. Cereb Cortex. 2020;30(10):5560-9.
12. Bourbon-Teles J, Bentley P, Koshino S, Shah K, Dutta A, Malhotra P, et al. Thalamic control of human attention driven by memory and learning. Curr Biol. 2014;24(9):993-9.
13. World Health Organization. The adolescent health indicators; 2024. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240092198.
14. Campanholo KR. Teste Stroop. In: Miotto EC, Campanholo KR, Serrao VT, Trevisan BT, organizers. Manual de avaliação neuropsicológica: a prática da testagem cognitiva. São Paulo: Memnon; 2018. p. 87-94.
15. Trevisan BT, Dias NM. Teste de Trilhas: Partes A e B. In: Miotto EC, Campanholo KR, Serrao VT, Trevisan BT, editors. Manual de avaliação neuropsicológica: a prática da testagem cognitiva. São Paulo: Memnon; 2018. p. 98-100.
16. Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences. 2. ed. New York: Academic Press; 1988. p. 567.
17. Tombaugh TN. Trail Making Test A and B: normative data stratified by age and education. Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2004;19(2):203-14.
Downloads
Publicado
Edição
Seção
Licença
Direitos autorais (c) 2025 Revista Brasileira de Educação Física e Esporte

Este trabalho está licenciado sob uma licença Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Todo o conteúdo da revista, exceto onde está identificado, está licenciado sob uma Licença Creative Commons (CC-BY)