CHESS AND INTELLIGENCE

The general belief is that chess skills require certain abilities, that a person is born with such skills. On the other hand, today it is often stated how important it is to direct children to chess from an early age, given that it is extremely useful for intellectual development, but also self-confidence and perseverance. It is therefore surprising that something completely logical and expected, such as the connection between intelligence and playing chess, does not actually have consistent evidence in research.

The results, for a start, show that chess skills correlate with certain cognitive abilities, but not with general intelligence. The grand masters were only superior when it came to recollection. Neuroscientific research indicates greater activity in the area of the chess player's brain called the frontal-parietal cortex, which is associated with recognizing and solving problems.

While talking about chaotic results in this area, especially the lack of connection between general intelligence and chess skills, the second line of research has emerged. It is led by researchers and authors who believe that intellect is not the key to playing chess, but practice. In accordance with that, it was found that chess grand masters, in relation to less skilled players, remember the position on the board better, which is explained by knowing the patterns that are repeated in this game. They simply use memories and models from the many previous games they have played or watched.

Either way, I believe that the answer to becoming a great chess player is somewhere in between. The fact is that chess cannot increase our IQ, but simply attracts children and adults with more developed cognitive abilities - the smartest, then, make the most progress in the game. Without sufficiently developed cognitive abilities necessary for success in chess, even endless practice is not helpful.

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