As children grow older, their need for connection, identity, and independence deepens. School alone can’t meet these needs. Nor can screens. What many children lack today is a third space—a place outside home and school where they can belong, explore, and grow.
Activity clubs, sports teams, music groups and hobby circles offer this space. They’re not just about skills – they’re about developing identity and independence, forming lasting friendships, finding mentors and role models.
The Anxious Generation
In his best-selling book The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt explores how the decline of in-person play and the rise of screen-based life have contributed to a mental health crisis among teens. In today’s seemingly even more connected world more and more young people are struggling with their identity and admitting to feelings of of loneliness. He argues that children need real-world spaces to rehearse independence, manage risk, and build social confidence. Real-world connection with other people is real, online connection just a sham.
But banning social media for under 16s, as Haidt proposes, is only one side of what needs to be done. The vibrant world of teenage hobbies enjoyed by those growing up between the 1950s and the 1970s has disappeared, but, for the health of young people today, it’s imperative that it is revived.
Chess as Third Space
Chess, when offered in a club setting rather than a classroom or app, becomes a sanctuary for older children. Young people who have perhaps learnt chess online, inspired by content creators like Levi Rozman (GothamChess) and Anna Cramling, or who may have played in primary school will find a second home inviting strategic thinking, emotional regulation, and symbolic mastery. It allows children to:
- Make decisions and learn from them
- Lose with dignity and win with humility
- Connect across age, background, and ability
- Develop lifelong friendships
- Access mentors and role models
These are not just chess skills—they’re life rehearsals.
A Quiet Invitation
Not every child will love chess. But every older child will benefit from joining a club – whether it’s chess, sport, music, or anything else. What matters is the third space itself: a place to grow outside the pressures of school and the solitude of screens.
CHESS MINDS 