First Moves / Chess news from around the U.S.
In Search of Research
New scholarly journal aims at the science behind the chess By MACAULEY PETERSON
SPANISH PSYCHIATRIST DR. HILARIO BLASCO-FONTECILLA has been studying chess. Not practicing his tactics or delving into the works of fellow Spaniard Ruy López de Segura, but rather Dr. Blasco is studying the game’s effects on children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
His project “Checkmate ADHD” supported by Madrid’s Puerta de Hierro hospital, has yielded promising preliminary results indicating that chess study can reduce the dose of, or even replace medication in some cases for children with ADHD.
Dr. Blasco has submitted his research findings to established scientific journals, but has encountered a problem: The journals’ peer reviewers lack the chess knowledge needed to evaluate them properly.
Claims about the benefits of chess, not only to children but also to combat the effects of brain aging, are often assumed, with little empirical research to support them. In 2010, the National Institutes of Health concluded that “the value of [mental stimu- lation] for delaying the onset and/or reducing the severity of decline or disease hasn't been demonstrated in rigorous studies.”
Enter the International Society for Chess Research (
www.chess-
researchsociety.org), a newly formed non-profit which hopes to fill a much needed gap in the multi-faceted world of chess— the lack of scholarly research. Its first project is a new Journal of Chess Research (JCR), which launches a “preview issue” on October 26th in St. Louis.
Managing Editor Frank Niro (USCF executive director from 2001 to 2003) chose the date in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of chess research pioneer Adriaan de Groot, who ana- lyzed how chess players approach problem solving.
“He's kind of my hero,” Niro explained, “not only is he the most cited researcher in history, he’s also the most often misquoted researcher.” Niro has penned an article on de Groot for the preview issue.
Three publishers of academic journals, Routledge, Sage, and Wiley have expressed interest in the journal, particularly after Niro managed to assemble an impressive editorial board of uni- versity professors and researchers.
“That’s the thing the publishing companies have been most amazed about—how in a matter of three months we were able to recruit a 24 member editorial board that can hold a candle to any of their editorial boards on any of their long established journals.”
The first official issue is planned for February, 2015, in time for a publishing partner to include the journal in its annual offerings to libraries, which takes place each spring.
“They agreed that our first one or two issues could have mean- 14 October 2014 | Chess Life
ingful scholarly content, but they want to know how we are going to sustain that.”
Indeed, it’s an ambitious goal. In order to strike an agreement with a publisher, the JCR will have to muster enough articles to fill 96 pages, quarterly. The preview issue will be 32 pages.
“We can always fall back—if we don’t do a partnership agree- ment—and have an open-access journal to get started until we can demonstrate a track record, but I’d rather do something with a major publishing company right away.”
Niro has had a long-standing interest in the scientific and soci- ocultural aspects of chess going back to his university days at Cornell in the early 1970s.
“This isn’t something new that I just decided would fill a niche or something which I want to do to make money. It’s something that has been a passion of mine for many years.”
The Susan Polgar Foundation (of which Niro is one of eight board members) provided a small “refundable grant” to get the project off the ground. “We are all doing what we can to promote chess,” he said.
The project has also received recognition from FIDE which is considering the establishment of a sub-commission on chess research under the auspices of the Training Commission chaired by GM Adrian Mikalchishin.
Macauley Peterson is content director at chess24. He may be reached at
Macauley@chess24.com.
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