Transformative Chess: Trainers’ Views on Soft Skill Development in the Selected Nordplus Countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17770/eid2026.1.110Keywords:
chess game, chess trainers, ranking, social inclusion, soft skills, soft skills’ categorisationAbstract
The transformative power of chess play as an educational tool has been recognised since many researchers found positive effects of chess game on the development of such skills, e.g. problem solving, attention and memory, cognitive development, emotional self-regulation, crucial for social inclusion. However, chess trainers’ views on their soft skills for strengthening trainees’ social inclusion via chess game are under-explored. The research aim is to analyse chess trainers’ views on their soft skills to be used in chess game for strengthening trainees’ social inclusion. The exploratory study used the online survey questionnaire for data collection. The study was carried out between November 2025 and February 2026 in selected Nordplus countries. Data were processed through the frequency of answer, mean, and ranking. The study results reveal that the skills’ category “Soft skills essential for social inclusion” are highly evaluated by the respondents. Specifically, the skill of critical thinking is found as the most appropriate in chess play for strengthening social inclusion. The theoretical analysis and modelling allow the categorisation of chess trainers’ soft skills into three groups: teaching skills, skills essential for social and inclusion, and skills essential for competitive performance. The study results in finding that chess trainers recognise chess play as a means for social inclusion. Direction of further research are proposed.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Prof. Andreas Ahrens, Jelena Zascerinska, Silva Blazulioniene, Daiga Falkane, Akeem Oppong, Alexandra Cheimona, Mihails Zascerinskis, Irina Abjalkiene, Anastasija Bikova, Ludmila Aleksejeva, Polina Glonina, Vasilisa Aleksejeva
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