Mild Cognitive ImpairmentCognichessNCT06281652
Cognitive Intervention With Go and Chess in Early and Subjective Cognitive Decline
A study testing Go classes and Chess classes in people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Subjective Cognitive Decline, run by University of Milano Bicocca at 1 site in Italy.
Trial summary
The goal of this clinical trial]is to evaluate if learning to play traditional board games could improve cognition in subjects with mild cognitive impairment and subjective cognitive decline. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 55 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Mild Cognitive Impairment, Subjective Cognitive Decline
- What is being tested?
- Go classes and Chess classes
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 80 participants
- Where
- 1 siteItaly
- Study dates
- 13 Feb 2024to 13 Feb 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 55 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or subjective cognitive decline
- Willingness to participate in the board games classes
- Living within 20-minute driving distance from the center
- Signed informed consent
Who cannot join
- Prior knowledge of the the game rules (in case the subject knows one of the two, they can be randomized to the other one)
- Significant linguistic or sensory impairment (according to clinical judgment)
- Significant behavioral or psychiatric disturbances (according to clinical judgment)
- Significant medical comorbidities (according to clinical judgment)
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
The goal of this clinical trial]is to evaluate if learning to play traditional board games could improve cognition in subjects with mild cognitive impairment and subjective cognitive decline. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Do Go and Chess improve cognition?
- Is a game better than the other? Is the effect of both games on cognition synergistic?
- Do Go and Chess improve quality of life?
- Do Go and Chess improve mood?
- Do Go and Chess improve lifestyle?
Read more
Participants will be randomized to one of four groups:
- Group intervention with Go, once a week, for 12 weeks
- Group intervention with Chess, once a week, for 12 weeks
- Group intervention with Go and Chess, twice a week, for 12 weeks
- Control group
- Being tested
- Go classes, Chess classes
- Keywords
- Subjective Cognitive Decline, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Cognitive enhancement, Board games
- Medical subject headings
- Cognitive Dysfunction
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Go classesOther
Classes of board games (Go), performed in groups of 6-10 subjects, once a week
Chess classesOther
Classes of board games (Chess), performed in groups of 6-10 subjects, once a week
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Go classes | Experimental | Subjects randomized to a group intervention with Go lessons once a week for 12 weeks Receives: Other: Go classes |
| Chess classes | Experimental | Subjects randomized to a group intervention with Chess lessons once a week for 12 weeks Receives: Other: Chess classes |
| Go & Chess classes | Experimental | Subjects randomized to a group intervention with Go and Chess lessons twice a week for 12 weeks Receives: Other: Go classes; Other: Chess classes |
| Control | No intervention | Subjects randomized to no intervention for 12 weeks |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
General cognition
Differences in Montreal Cognitive Assessment between groups [continuous scale, 0-30, higher scores indicate better performances]
Measured: 12 weeks
Secondary outcomes (8)
Digit Span Forward
Differences in Digit Span Forward between groups [continuous scale, 0-9, higher scores indicate better performances]
Measured: 12 weeks
Digit Span Backwards
Differences in Digit Span Backwards between groups [continuous scale, 0-9, higher scores indicate better performances]
Measured: 12 weeks
Trail Making Test - part A
Differences in Trail Making Test - part A between groups [time to complete the task, min 0 seconds, max N/A, higher scores indicate worse performances]
Measured: 12 weeks
Trail Making Test - part B
Differences in Trail Making Test - part B between groups [time to complete the task, min 0 seconds, max N/A, higher scores indicate worse performances]
Measured: 12 weeks
Semantic fluency
Differences in Semantic fluency between groups [continuous scale, min 0, max N/A, higher scores indicate better performances]
Measured: 12 weeks
Quality of life indicator
Differences in WHO Quality of life (WHO-QoL) scale between groups [continuous scale, min 0 max 100, higher scores indicate better quality of life]
Measured: 12 weeks
Depression
Differences in geriatric depression scale scale between groups [continuous scale, min 0 max 15, higher scores indicate worse depression]
Measured: 12 weeks
Lifestyle
Differences in simple lifestyle indicator questionnaire scale between groups [continuous scale, min 0 max 10, higher scores indicate healthier lifestyle]
Measured: 12 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted28 Feb 2024
- Study start13 Feb 2024
- Primary completion13 Feb 2025
- Study completion13 Feb 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Mild Cognitive ImpairmentStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 80 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Milano Bicocca
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Lucio Tremolizzo, MD, PhD, Principal investigator, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06281652
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- Cognichess
- Acronym
- Cognichess
- Status last verified
- Feb 2024
- First submitted
- 19 Feb 2024
- Last updated
- 25 Mar 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Pozzi FE, Spanio A, Gallo F, Isgro G, Remoli G, Magi A, Moscatelli E, Crisci E, Negro G, Appollonio I, Ferrarese C, Tremolizzo L. Cognitive and social intervention with Go and chess in early and subjective cognitive decline: The COGniChESs study results, with an updated meta-analysis. J Alzheimers Dis. 2026 Jan;109(2):747-756. doi: 10.1177/13872877251401481. Epub 2025 Dec 4.
PubMed 41342683
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 25 Mar 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Cognitive Intervention With Go and Chess in Early and Subjective Cognitive Decline
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06281652
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Cognichess / Cognichess
- Keywords
- Subjective Cognitive Decline, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Cognitive enhancement, Board games
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 80 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Milano BicoccaUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 13 Feb 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 13 Feb 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 13 Feb 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 28 Feb 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this clinical trial]is to evaluate if learning to play traditional board games could improve cognition in subjects with mild cognitive impairment and subjective cognitive decline. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Do Go and Chess improve cognition?
- Is a game better than the other? Is the effect of both games on cognition synergistic?
- Do Go and Chess improve quality of life?
- Do Go and Chess improve mood?
- Do Go and Chess improve lifestyle?
Participants will be randomized to one of four groups:
- Group intervention with Go, once a week, for 12 weeks
- Group intervention with Chess, once a week, for 12 weeks
- Group intervention with Go and Chess, twice a week, for 12 weeks
- Control group
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 4
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Go classes | Experimental | Other: Go classesSubjects randomized to a group intervention with Go lessons once a week for 12 weeks |
| Chess classes | Experimental | Other: Chess classesSubjects randomized to a group intervention with Chess lessons once a week for 12 weeks |
| Go & Chess classes | Experimental | Other: Go classes, Other: Chess classesSubjects randomized to a group intervention with Go and Chess lessons twice a week for 12 weeks |
| Control | No intervention | –Subjects randomized to no intervention for 12 weeks |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 55 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or subjective cognitive decline
- Willingness to participate in the board games classes
- Living within 20-minute driving distance from the center
- Signed informed consent
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Prior knowledge of the the game rules (in case the subject knows one of the two, they can be randomized to the other one)
- Significant linguistic or sensory impairment (according to clinical judgment)
- Significant behavioral or psychiatric disturbances (according to clinical judgment)
- Significant medical comorbidities (according to clinical judgment)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Go classesClasses of board games (Go), performed in groups of 6-10 subjects, once a week | Other | Go & Chess classes, Go classes |
| Chess classesClasses of board games (Chess), performed in groups of 6-10 subjects, once a week | Other | Chess classes, Go & Chess classes |
Primary outcome
General cognition
Time frame: 12 weeks
Differences in Montreal Cognitive Assessment between groups [continuous scale, 0-30, higher scores indicate better performances]
8 secondary outcomes
Digit Span Forward
Time frame: 12 weeks
Digit Span Backwards
Time frame: 12 weeks
Trail Making Test - part A
Time frame: 12 weeks
Trail Making Test - part B
Time frame: 12 weeks
Semantic fluency
Time frame: 12 weeks
Quality of life indicator
Time frame: 12 weeks
Depression
Time frame: 12 weeks
Lifestyle
Time frame: 12 weeks
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 25 Mar 2026.
- Results publication: PubMed 41342683Pozzi FE, Spanio A, Gallo F, Isgro G, Remoli G, Magi A, Moscatelli E, Crisci E, Negro G, Appollonio I, Ferrarese C, Tremolizzo L. Cognitive and social intervention with Go and chess in early and subjective cognitive decline: The COGniChESs study results, with an updated meta-analysis. J Alzheimers Dis. 2026 Jan;109(2):747-756. doi: 10.1177/13872877251401481. Epub 2025 Dec 4.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Lucio Tremolizzo, MD, PhD principal investigator
Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Go classes and Chess classes in people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Subjective Cognitive Decline, run by University of Milano Bicocca at 1 site in Italy.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 25 Mar 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Italy. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
General cognition (time frame: 12 weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06281652, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 25 Mar 2026.