Will chess make us smarter, better people?

Two interesting articles were published in the Australian media today, touting the educational benefits of chess, and calling for it to be taught as a core subject in Australian schools. John Adams, Government Relations Director for the Australian Chess Federation argues that chess may play an integral role in boosting the educational performance of Australian children. He plans to spend the next year producing a report that gathers empirical evidence to support this claim, with the intention of getting chess accepted as part of the standard curriculum.
Alongside this was an article by Peter Martin, economics editor for The Age, who described what he learnt from playing chess, lessons he believe he may not have learnt if he had not played the game. In conclusion he argues that not only will a generation of Australian chessplayers make us a smarter country, but possibly even better people.
The report on John Adam's work is here, while you can read Peter Martin's article here.