Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Working memory is the ability to actively maintain information in conscious awareness, carry out cognitive operations on it, and produce an outcome. Working memory holds a small amount of information in the mind and is used in the execution of cognitive tasks, in contrast to long-term memory, which is extensive. Many important cognitive behaviors, such as reading, reasoning, and problem-solving, require working memory because for each of these activities, some information must be maintained in an accessible state while new information is processed and potentially distracting information is ignored. While the effect of chess training on intelligence and academic performance has been examined, its impact on working memory needs to be studied. This study, funded by the Cognitive Science Research Initiative, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, analyzed the effect of 2-year chess training on the working memory of children. A pretest–posttest with control group design was used. The randomly selected sample consisted of 88 children in the experimental group and 90 children in the control group for the baseline and first-year assessments. Children of both genders studying in school (grades 3 to 9) comprised the sample. At the second-year assessment, there were 80 children in the experimental group and 77 in the control group. The experimental group underwent weekly chess training for 2 years, while the control group was actively involved in sports and extracurricular activities offered by the school. Working memory was measured by two subtests of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) INDIA. The children were trained using Winning Moves curriculum, audiovisual learning method, hands-on chess training and recording the games using score sheets, and analyzing their mistakes. They were also trained in Opening theory, Checkmating techniques, End-game theory, and Tactical principles. Analysis of covariance revealed that the experimental group had significant gains in working memory compared to the control group. The present study supports a link between chess training and working memory. The transfer of skills acquired in chess training to the improvement of working memory could be attributed to the fact that while playing chess, children evaluate positions, visualize new positions in their mind, evaluate the pros and cons of each move, and choose moves based on the information stored in their mind. If working memory’s capacity could be expanded or made to function more efficiently, it could result in the improvement of executive functions as well as the scholastic performance of the child.