Why mix chess and math?

The question could be answered with why not? We see many times a real life problem is linked and "mixed" with math just like language arts is also sometimes "mixed" with math to be learned in an integrated fashion. However, look it closely, we are not mixing chess and math in a sense like mixing mud and water. What we are doing is to offer an integrated chess and math course in such a way that parents and students have more choices in offerings on how math is learned. Chess is used as a learning tool to improve a student's problem-solving ability and critical thinking skills in the areas of logic, pattern, perception, coordination, spatial relations, decision making and visualization etc. All these abilities are associated with chess learning.

In our chess and math integrated class, students are offered with math and chess integrated worksheets and chess knowledge learned is sometimes applied to solve the problems on the worksheets. In other words, students are offered additional materials which provide students with more exposure in patters recognition, logical thinking, computations using symbols, mathematical puzzles etc.

It is an innovative and fun way of learning math using chess as a tool which traditionally though as one type of board games. It generates more interests for youngster to wanting to learn and encourages them to use acquired knowledge to solve math related problems.

With the above in mind, our learning Centre also offers "pure" math or "pure" chess courses to students, so we are very flexible in our courses offers, no one is "obligated" to go along with our philosophy to have to learn math and chess together.