Brain Benefits of Chess

I did my 7th speech in toastmasters today and here is the speech. :)

Can I ask you a question?What is your favorite indoor game? Caram? Chess? Indoor cricket? Cards/gambling?anything else?Ok.How many chess players are here?or How many of you like chess?

Do you know that we have a chess club here?(at office) True that it's not very active these days.Some time back we were active in it and we had a coach coming once in every two weeks to teach us the basic lessons and tactics.Unfortunately due to work load we could not make it regularly and at some point it was stopped. 

Not for nothing is chess known as “the game of kings.” No doubt the rulers of empires and kingdoms saw in the game fitting practice for the strategizing and forecasting they themselves were required to do when dealing with other monarchs and challengers. As we learn more about the brain, some are beginning to push for chess to be reintroduced as a tool in the public’s education.

Lets see what are the benefits our brain gets from playing chess.

1. It can raise your IQ - I hope you all have an idea about chess atleast.We might tend to think that chess is a game for brainy and High IQ people. But one research done among students in a country called Venezuela shows that moving those knights and rooks around can raise a person's IQ. 4000 students were involved in this experiment and they had a significant rise in IQ score after 4 months of chess instructions.

2. It triggers the usage of left brain and right brain at the same time. We generally categorize people as left-brained and right brained.If we take our brain,left side of our brain is responsible for logics,analytics and computation things like that and right brain handles creativity and imagination. In a german study they presented some chess positions related questions and expected the left brain to be more active. Interestingly chess experts used both sides of the brain to answer those questions.I think it is quite understandable that with the tacttics and logics player should have a creative plan to move forward while defending. That is where the right side of the brain comes in to play I guess. So chess would make us a well-rounded person.


3. Improves concentration -Chess demands an intense concentration and it improves focus in it's players as well.Looking away or thinking about something else for even a moment can result in the loss of a match, as an opponent is not required to tell you how he moved if you didn’t pay attention. Numerous studies of students in the U.S., Russia, China, and elsewhere have proven time and again that young people’s ability to focus is sharpened with chess. When we say concentration another thing that comes to mind is driving. That also requires 100% focus. Look away for a moment and you have no idea what will happen the next moment unless you are quite sure that the road is clear.


4. It prevents dementia. Dementia is a collective term used to describe various symptoms of cognitive decline, such as forgetfulness/memory loss.A recent study featured in The New England Journal of Medicine found that people over 75 who engage in brain-stretching activities like chess are less likely to develop dementia than their non-board-game-playing peers. Just like an un-exercised muscle loses strength, Dr. Robert Freidland, the study’s author, found that unused brain tissue leads to a loss of brain power. So that’s all the more reason to play chess before you turn 75.

There are many more benefits like improve your memory,reading skills and problem solving skills.

They say "Chess is a battle on the board." All the skills required to win a battle required in chess as well. The only difference is it happens on chess board not in real world.

Do you want to make yourself or your kid a tactical warrior in the battle of life? What would you do ? Go for chess! 

So when are you going to start playing chess or when are you going to introduce it to your kids if you haven't yet? Thank you !