Why is it that people are willing to devote such time to playing chess?
It’s because of the fact that playing chess involves a high intense intellectual challenge that’s very good for the health of your mind.
In this post, I will be revealing to you why you should be playing the chess game and what it does to the brain.
- Chess improves one’s ability to see things from another person’s point of view.
Chess players who are skilled learn to anticipate their opponents’ next moves. A player must develop the ability to adopt another person’s perspective and infer what action they are likely to take in order to predict what another person will do next.
Behavioral scientists refer to this ability to see things from a different perspective as “theory of mind.” It is a necessary skill for practicing empathy and developing healthy social relationships. Children who play chess develop this perspective-taking ability.
2. Chess boosts memory.
It may come as no surprise that skilled chess players have outstanding memory skills. After all, the game requires memorizing so many moves and their possible outcomes.
It’s also worth noting that experienced chess players perform better in terms of a specific type of recollection: auditory memory. This is the ability to recall information learned through hearing.
In one experiment, researchersTrusted Source compared professional chess players’ recall ability to that of people with no chess playing experience. They discovered that chess players were significantly better than non-chess players at recalling lists of words they’d heard.
Talented chess players also have an above-average ability to remember and recognize visual patterns, which researchers believe stems from memorizing complex chess positions.
3. Chess allows you to achieve a flow state.
Flow is a deeply satisfying state of total involvement where you’re performing at your best in a difficult task. Athletes, artists, and performers frequently describe entering a time warp; in which they are so completely focused on the task at hand that their awareness of anything beyond the performance appears to vanish.
Theta waves are heightened in electroencephalograms (EEGs) taken when people are in a state of flow; according to researchers who study brain activity. The same high levels of theta waves; have been found in brain scans of experienced chess players during increasingly difficult chess matches.
4. Playing Chess helps to improve your creativity.
Researchers at an Indian school assessed two groups of students’ creative thinking abilities. One group had chess training, while the other did not.
Students were asked to come up with alternative uses for common items as well as to interpret patterns and meaning in abstract forms. Chess players performed better on tests. Chess, according to the researchers, improved students’ ability to think in divergent and creative ways.
5. Chess improves planning abilities.
Chess games are known for lengthy periods of silence in which players consider each move. Players spend a lot of time anticipating their opponents’ reactions and attempting to predict every possible outcome.
Takeaway Chess has numerous cognitive benefits, including the ability to:
- Sense of Intelligence
- Compassion
- Memory
- Problem-solving and planning abilities
- Ability to be creative.
Chess can also help with the symptoms or severity of a number of medical conditions, such as dementia, ADHD, and panic attacks. Furthermore, playing this difficult game can help you find your flow or improve the effectiveness of your therapy sessions.
If you’re thinking about taking up chess as a hobby, keep in mind that it can be time-consuming and stressful, especially if you want to master the game or compete in tournaments. You’ll have to decide whether these disadvantages outweigh the potential cognitive health benefits for yourself. It’s your turn now.