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The national organisation Dansk Skoleskak is best known for organising school chess for around 60,000 children and young people in schools across the country. But in 2024, Danish School Chess will have a national gathering place with the opening of Skakkens Hus at Sølvgade 15 in Copenhagen. Skakkens Hus will be a meeting place for mental development and community across generations. With the subtitle “the brain gym”, the house offers modern facilities for brain training and healthy communities with chess as the focal point.
As early as 27 September 2023, the house took an advance look at some of its potential uses. The house opened temporarily to children, weeks and the elderly, who were invited to try out activities and provide input for Chess House before a major remodelling begins.
In 2024, the 750 m2 national lighthouse will open, where the national organisation expects 25,000 visitors annually to be invited to mentally healthy activities across gender and culture, generations and borders. And of course, it will also be the place where school classes can get excited about school chess and game-based maths – as well as learning about mental health.
Professor: Need for brain training
Svend Brinkmann, professor of psychology and ambassador for Skakkens Hus, explains the value of the upcoming meeting place.
“As physical work decreased, the classic fitness centres emerged. In a future with AI, ChatGPT etc. there will be a need for more brain training. That’s why Skakkens Hus – the brain gym is a wise countermeasure, also to the digital tsunami that is washing over us these years and in relation to the loneliness that an increasing number of children, young people, adults and the elderly experience.”
Chess with social value
It is widely recognised that chess can contribute to the learning and well-being of children and young people in several ways. Children who play chess develop the ability to concentrate, think logically and strengthen their ability to make decisions and predict the consequences of their actions. They also gain social skills in the company of others.
“Chess is fun and engaging for many children and young people, and through the game they are trained to think logically and to immerse themselves with very specific goals in mind. The services offered by Skakkens Hus are very much in line with the Otto Mønsted Foundation’s focus on supporting initiatives for, among others, students in STEM subjects, where their skills after graduation will be of great commercial value to Danish trade and industry,” says Nina Movin, Director of the Otto Mønsted Foundation about the reason for the foundation’s grant to Skakkens Hus.
In 2021, the analysis company Damvad Analytics documented in a report how systematic school chess can affect children’s life outcomes by improving their maths skills. The report claims that within five years, there will be a socio-economic gain of up to DKK 1 billion by using systematic school chess for one hour a week in primary schools. Chess strengthens children’s maths skills and minimises the dropout rate from education. When the educational level of a larger group of young people is raised, unemployment, crime and wage income decrease.
Photo courtesy of Danish School Chess.