What Chess Can Teach Us About Raising Confident, Resilient Kids

When the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dan Shapiro was simply looking for something meaningful to do with his son. What began as an after-school chess club quickly turned into an unexpected journey that challenged everything he thought he knew about intelligence, learning, and what it really means to help a child thrive.

In this episode of The Child Psych Podcast, psychologist Tania Johnson sits down with Dan, author of Decoding Genius: The Unexpected Lessons of After-School Chess Club, to explore the remarkable lessons hidden within one of the world's oldest games. Driven by his son's growing passion for chess, Dan immersed himself in the fascinating history and science of the game, uncovering stories of blindfold chess masters, child prodigies, remarkable feats of memory, and the surprising reasons cultures around the world have long viewed chess as a powerful tool for developing the mind.

But this conversation isn't really about raising chess champions.

It's about raising children who can think ahead, tolerate frustration, recover from mistakes, embrace challenge, and discover the quiet confidence that comes from mastering something difficult. Together, Tania and Dan explore why meaningful struggle is essential for healthy development, how chess strengthens executive functioning and emotional regulation, and what every parent can learn from a simple game played across a checkered board.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How one family's pandemic chess journey became a lesson in resilience, confidence, and connection.
• Why chess develops much more than strategic thinking.
• The fascinating history of chess and why it has captivated brilliant minds for centuries.
• How children build executive functioning through planning, pattern recognition, and decision-making.
• Why mistakes, setbacks, and losing are essential ingredients for growth.
• How parents can foster curiosity, perseverance, and a love of learning without creating pressure to perform.
• Why the greatest lessons children learn through chess have very little to do with winning.

Whether your child is already a chess enthusiast or has never played a single game, this conversation will inspire you to think differently about challenge, mastery, and the hidden moments that shape a child's developing mind.

Dan Shapiro is an author, entrepreneur, and lifelong student of learning and human potential. Inspired by his son's journey into competitive chess during the COVID-19 pandemic, he wrote Decoding Genius to explore the surprising ways chess develops resilience, creativity, critical thinking, and lifelong learning.

To learn more about Dan or to purchase Decoding Genius: The Unexpected Lessons of After-School Chess Club, click here.

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