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When a grandmaster easily defeats a dozen opponents in a simultaneous game session, it is amazing. And although most of us are unlikely to achieve this level, playing chess will benefit any player and at any age.
Chess develops mathematical and critical thinking
Playing chess in childhood correlates with high performance in the future. One study showed that students who could play chess had better academic performance, especially in math, and had better spatial and non-verbal thinking.
Chess players use both hemispheres of the brain
When analyzing the brain function of strong players, it turned out that when thinking about moves, both hemispheres of the brain work for them: the right hemisphere, better adapted to visual perception, recognizes template situations on the board based on the experience of past games, and the left hemisphere analyzes possible moves.
Chess teaches us to think like a computer
Perhaps players of strategic board games such as chess are learning to think like computers. The fact is that these games require “computer thinking” – they follow a set of relatively simple rules, while they need to constantly make decisions based on large amounts of information.
Good players are good at problem solving
Psychologists at the University of Konstanz in Germany conducted a study and found that grandmasters, when considering moves, use the frontal lobes of the brain – this area is associated with problem solving. Probably, these players were able to recognize template situations and make appropriate decisions against their background. But for amateur players, the medial temporal lobe was involved, which is associated with the formation of long-term memory.
Playing chess protects against Alzheimer’s
A study found that older adults over 75 who play chess or other strategic board games are at lower risk of dementia and other memory problems.