Navigating Social and Emotional Learning in Chess

By Luke Payyapilli, CEO of Life Lessons Education

Make-or-break moments in chess are about more than memorizing a series of moves. A player must also be able to manage their emotions through critical points in any match. Whether you wish to correct an error or you want to better detect an opponent’s strategy, understanding how to cope with and manage your feelings in the moment can make the crucial difference between winning or losing a match. This is where social and emotional learning can play a pivotal role.

Throughout your chess journey, there will come moments where having practiced SEL (social and emotional learning) skills will come in handy. There is a framework for outlining each  competency as enumerated by the leading organization for social and emotional learning called CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning). They are as follows:

• Self-Management

Self-Management is the ability to manage one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations to achieve goals and aspirations. This includes the capacities to delay gratification, manage stress, and also generate the motivation and agency to accomplish personal and collective goals.

• Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is the ability to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and their influence on behavior across contexts. This includes capacities to recognize one’s strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose.

• Responsible Decision-Making

Responsible decision-making is the ability to make caring and constructive choices across diverse situations regarding one’s personal behavior and social interactions. This includes the capacity to consider ethical standards and safety concerns, and to evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal, social, and collective well-being.

• Social Awareness

Social awareness is the ability to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts. This includes the capacity to feel compassion for others, understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different settings, and recognize family, school, and community resources and support.

• Relationship Skills

Relationship skills include the ability to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups. This includes the capacity to communicate clearly, listen actively, cooperate, work collaboratively to problem solve and negotiate conflict constructively, navigate settings with differing social and cultural demands and opportunities, provide leadership, and seek or offer help when needed.

These competencies are the blueprint for any chess player to succeed – both during your matches and after. 

Beyond winning a match, another important part of chess is the community that you join as a player, which is critical to growing your skills in the game. Developing these competencies through intentional practice (similar to chess itself) will help bolster any player’s ability to improve their game and benefit from that robust community.

We at Life Lessons create gamified lessons to help students engage with these competencies in a relatable way. We make it easy for students to practice these skills so when they encounter situations that require them in their day to day lives (like in a chess tournament or a tense match) they are able to manage their emotions effectively. Check out our content at https://lifelessonsed.com and try a free lesson today. If you’d like to learn more about incorporating SEL into your district, school, or classroom, request a demo to see how we can help you achieve your SEL program goals.