Should every kid learn to play chess?

I think I am generally in favour of playing strategic board games with kids in general . I'm not so sure about putting it in an environment with testing and seeing how good you become at the game. Nonetheless, I think a play-by-play review for the kids after the game would be good in terms of teaching them tricks and strategic positions to adopt when solving logical puzzles.

I recall playing Monopoly with my niece when I was back in Singapore. She was maybe about 6 at that point. My brother and sister - in-law would go easy on her and not buy similar coloured properties if my niece already owned one. Given that her district was safe, my niece took to hoarding money, thinking that having more is better.

When I played with her however, I didn't adopt the same pattern. I bought up places as long as I could afford it and that included some of those "similar coloured properties" much to my niece's chagrin. While she complained, I noticed that once she understood that I wasn't giving her the same chances, she changed her strategy, she went after my properties as well. Her first attempt at this new strategy wasn't great since she used up all her money, chasing my properties . but then her approach became more refined with subsequent games. And she became better at handling her money and understanding which properties were worth saving for.

So long story short, I really like the idea of introducing board games and logical puzzles in school. I don't think the child's performance needs to be graded or tested, possibly winning a game alone is quite satisfying. Giving the kids tips on how to play and having them learn adaptively how to position themselves against their opponents is great for sharpening the mind, and may just teach them even more than standard subject material. (not to mention learning how to lose gracefully at an early age!)