What is this project about?
The aim of this project is to gain comprehensive knowledge of the factors that influence the development of chess expertise over a lifetime.
Previous research has already uncovered a number of factors that affect playing performance. These include various practice activities, personality factors (including motivation), some aspects of emotional intelligence and numerical and figural-spatial information processing skills. However, the relative importance of these factors and their interplay in a chess career are still unknown. To this end, we cordially invite you to participate in this study.
Who can take part?
Every chess player who is registered in the FIDE database(https://ratings.fide.com/) or has a national ELO number or DWZ.
What needs to be done?
Complete an online study that takes approximately 35-45 minutes to complete.
This study contains questionnaires on demographic information (such as FIDE ID, name, handedness, age), chess-related motivation, personality, and emotional intelligence. In three short tasks, we also assess your skills in solving numerical and figural-spatial problems. Finally, the study contains questions on chess-related practice activities. In particular, we ask you to estimate how much time you have spent on different practice activities in your chess career to date.
What do I gain from participating?
First of all, by taking part for approx. 35-45 minutes of your time, you will make a significant contribution to gaining new insights into the factors that are conducive to a successful chess career. These insights also have important implications for future chess training.
In addition, we offer you individualized feedback on your results compared to other international chess players who have participated in this online study. In particular, we can inform you about your relative position in terms of chess-related motivation, numerical, figural-spatial and arithmetic skills, personality profile, emotional intelligence and chess-related practice activities. This feedback can help you to better understand your own chess career.
Is my personal data secure?
Absolute. All statistical analyses are conducted with an anonymized data set, and all research results are published exclusively in anonymized form. All study data is stored in secure and encrypted files.
What happens if I want to cancel my participation?
Participation in this online study is voluntary and can be terminated at any time without giving reasons. In the event of termination, all your study data will be deleted. Cancellation does not entail any disadvantages.
How can I contact the study directors for further information?
Please send an e-mail to chess-study(at)uni-graz.at. We will reply as soon as possible.
Roland H. Grabner, Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Austria
Merim Bilalic, Northumbria University Newcastle, United Kingdom
Nemanja Vaci, The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
