An online chess game designed for people with dyslexia
Luz Rello, Sergi Subirats, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2016 · Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A) · doi:10.1145/2899475.2899479
Summary
This paper presents an online chess learning platform specifically designed for people with dyslexia and investigates whether people with dyslexia learn and play chess differently from those without. The researchers built an instrumented web-based chess game incorporating accessibility considerations for dyslexic users—text presented in Arial on a creme background, maximum 60 characters per line, minimum 14-point font size, and content using frequent words and short sentences. The platform was structured around 9 progressive lessons, each containing three components: theory (text and figures explaining chess concepts), exercises (four types testing square identification, color recognition, piece placement, and piece movement), and playing against a computer opponent. The study was motivated by prior research showing that chess instruction benefits students with learning disabilities in domains like mathematics, and that chess engages cognitive skills neurologically related to dyslexia—visuospatial abilities, calculation, and executive functions such as attention, planning, and problem-solving. The researchers conducted a within-subjects experiment with 62 participants (31 with diagnosed dyslexia, 31 without), controlling for ADHD/ADD comorbidity. Participants completed the first lesson at home on their own computers while researchers were available online for support, and interaction was tracked through mouse movements and clicks.
Key findings
The study measured 12 dependent variables across theory learning, exercises, and gameplay. Significant differences were found on 8 of these measures. For theory learning, participants with dyslexia spent significantly more time reading (M=25.53s vs M=17.33s, p=0.013) but achieved nearly identical answer accuracy (95.16% vs 93.94%, p=0.987)—consistent with dyslexia affecting decoding speed but not comprehension when text is accessible. For exercises, participants with dyslexia spent significantly more time (p<0.001), moved the mouse over more board squares (p=0.003), and took longer before their first attempt (p<0.001), though they achieved comparable accuracy—no significant differences in number of tries or first-try correctness. During gameplay, participants with dyslexia had longer games (p=0.051) averaging 9.12 seconds per move versus 6.18 seconds, but showed no significant differences in number of moves, time to first move, or win rate (66% vs 79%). Notably, 53% of participants with dyslexia believed dyslexia did not interfere with their chess skills. The increased time and mouse exploration patterns suggest that chess exercises engage visuospatial attention and numerical abilities that are related to dyslexia, supporting the potential for chess as a targeted training tool.
Relevance
This study contributes to the growing body of research on using games as accessible educational tools for people with learning disabilities. The finding that people with dyslexia can achieve comparable chess accuracy despite taking more time is encouraging for practitioners designing learning experiences—it suggests that time-pressured interfaces may unnecessarily penalize dyslexic users while untimed activities can be equally effective. The interface design decisions (font choice, background color, line width, simplified language) offer practical guidance for making any web-based learning tool more accessible to people with dyslexia. The research also raises interesting questions about leveraging cognitive training through games rather than traditional remediation approaches. A key limitation is that only the first (most elementary) lesson was tested, and the sample size of 62 participants limits generalizability. Future research by the team aimed to develop chess as both a training tool for dyslexia-related skills and a potential screening tool for dyslexia detection.
Tags: dyslexia · serious games · game accessibility · learning disabilities · cognitive accessibility · visuospatial attention · educational technology