For Research Partners
A carefully designed, openly reported study of chess with guided storytelling, a question no one has answered yet.
Our Impact, Together
Real change is something we measure carefully, and share openly.
We are at our opening moves, so we won't show numbers we have not earned. Instead, here is what we are looking for, how we will measure it and what we promise along the way.
What We Hope to See
Here is the path we expect our work to follow. It is a plan, not a promise of results.
What Happens at the Table
A real game, a real conversation and a life story, in every session.
What We Watch For
Signs of more connection, better mood and a stronger sense of purpose.
What We Will Learn
Whether chess with guided storytelling helps older adults, and for whom.
Where We're Headed
To add what we learn to the research, and share what works with others.
How We Will Measure
Only a few small trials have tested chess with older adults, and none has tested it alongside guided storytelling. We want to help close that gap, carefully.
Sources: scoping review of 21 chess studies, IJERPH, 2019 (opens in a new tab); Pozzi et al., Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 2023 (opens in a new tab) and 2026 (opens in a new tab).
Chosen with researchers
We will select established measures with our research partners, not invent our own.
Planned in public
We will publish our measurement plan before our first researched session.
Consent first
Every participant agrees to take part, and can withdraw at any time.
Our Commitments
- We will not report outcomes we have not measured.
- We will publish what we find, including results that show no effect.
- We will protect every participant's privacy and story.
- We will name our sources, always.
What Impact Means for Each of Us
We each come to the table for different reasons. Here is what we hope each of us takes away.
For Care and Community Partners
A simple program that gives your members a standing reason to gather, with nothing to install and nothing to buy.
For Community Members
A seat at the table, a game worth playing and, if you wish, a story worth keeping. Players and volunteers welcome.
Numbers We Stand On
Three findings that shaped our program. The full evidence, with every source and its limits, is on The Evidence page.
Up to 45%
of dementia cases could be delayed or prevented by addressing 14 changeable risks, social isolation among them.
Expert commission · 2024 Lancet Commission (opens in a new tab)
About 50%
higher dementia risk is linked to social isolation, which affects about 1 in 4 adults over 65.
Expert report · National Academies, 2020 (opens in a new tab)
Structure helps
A supervised two-year program with cognitive and social challenge improved thinking more than a self-guided one, in 2,111 adults aged 60–79.
Randomized trial · US POINTER, JAMA, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
Let's Build the Evidence Together
Whoever you are, there is a place for you in this work. Tell us how you would like to help.