Does Maths improve your Chess game?

Further to our other blog post about the math lesson on Kai’s Clan, we also want to highlight the relevance between maths and playing chess.

Research shows that there is a strong correlation between chess and math scores, and a higher improvement in math in the experimental group compared with the control group. These results foster the hypothesis that even a short-time practice of chess in children can be a useful tool to enhance their mathematical abilities.

As it so happens, Kai’s Clan combines both mathematics and chess into one brain-invigorating challenge!

If you didn’t know already, we are looking for students that love maths, coding arts, and a game of chess to join us for the world’s FIRST-EVER physical and virtual international chess challenge.

In this amazing challenge, students not only have to play chess but also design and code virtual chess characters. The game is played on a three-foot by three-foot mat within a 30-minute time limit. Teams will battle across continents right from their current location.

We’ve also kicked it up a notch— apart from playing chess, your team of up to four players will design their virtual 3D characters and code them in a battle of wits and strategies.

How does this work? Students play the game on a physical mat with physical chess pieces while simultaneously engaging their chess characters and their opponents in a life-like, virtual chess battle. This is not a one-player game, collaboration is the key element in taking the crown.

Prizes will be awarded in each category for the most creative design, most inventive use of code, and best overall chess strategy.

What is The Global Chess Challenge?

The Global Chess Challenge will take place via the internet. It features Kai’s Clan’s virtual platform and their create mat. Kai’s Clan uses an innovative approach to playing Chess over the internet and blends both physical and virtual worlds together. A totally immersive and collaborative Coding Experience, where students compete in teams against each other.

Perhaps most importantly chess is a fun way to teach children how to think and solve an ever-changing and diverse array of difficult problems. With millions of possibilities in every game, players must continually face new positions and new problems.

They cannot solve these using a simple formula or relying on memorized answers. Instead, they must analyze and calculate, relying on general principles and patterns along with a dose of creativity and originality – a skill that increasingly mirrors what students must confront in their everyday schoolwork. Chess is computational thinking at its best!

The Competition Specifics…

The first Global Chess Challenge is aimed at public & private schools, homeschool groups, STEM/STEAM after-school programs, and chess clubs, for students ages 7 – 18 years old. Teams (with 2-4 players) in 3 different categories from Elementary, Middle School, and High School can enter with one coach per team.

Kai’s Clan has now introduced chess on their ‘Create Mat’. Students can play chess on a physical mat (8×8 squares) and also experience their chess pieces come to life in a virtual world. The chess mat is a unique version of their Create Mat, specially designed to resemble a chessboard.

A unique feature is that it doesn’t matter where you are taking this challenge from. With Kai’s Chess, you can be sitting around and playing on one mat, or you can be on 2 different chess boards/mats versing your friends in the next room or you can challenge another school anywhere in the world.

Usually, chess is a two-player game, but with Kai’s Chess you can collaborate with your buddies and put your heads together. It’s a little unorthodox, we know but how awesome is it that you can create your own game/project and code your chess moves, add animations, effects, sound, speech bubbles, etc? Go further and design your own avatar chess pieces. Apart from teaching math and coding, we unlock the child’s creativity with The Global Chess Challenge.

You can read more about the competition here.