Do GMs have an IQ of 150+ ?

The maximum standard rating that a player can reach should be limited by many factors. One of them should be their pattern recognition. So I suppose that:

IQ -> Max rating potential
100 -> 2000
110 -> 2100
120 -> 2200 (CM)
130 -> 2300 (FM)
140 -> 2400 (IM)
150 -> 2500 (GM)
180 -> 2800 (top players)

Do you know someone who contradicts this hypothesis?

IQ does not directly correlate to chess skill.

I.Q. is not related to intelligence or strength in chess.

In fact there are problems with I.Q. tests in general.

>Criticisms of IQ Tests
>Much of the criticism of intelligence tests has focused on their content. Critics point out that most intelligence tests are concerned with only a narrow set of skills and may, in fact, measure nothing more than the ability to take tests. Critics also maintain that the content and administration of IQ tests are shaped by the values of Western middle-class society and that, as a result, they may discriminate against minorities. IQ tests are also criticized because the results are often used to label some students as slow learners. Finally, IQ tests do not offer information on motivation, emotion, attitudes, and other similar factors that may have a strong bearing on a person's success in school and in life.

>Other critics hold that intelligence is far too complex to be precisely measured by tests. IQ tests are also criticized for neglecting to account for social influences on a person's performance. According to recent reviews of the evidence, intelligence tests are good predictors of success on the job. However, because so many variables figure in occupational success, psychologists continue to debate this issue. Robert Sternberg and Richard Wagner have called for a test to be developed specifically to measure skills related to job performance. They refer to the knowledge that people need to perform their jobs effectively as tacit knowledge.

dbuweb.dbu.edu/dbu/psyc1301/softchalk/s8lecture1/s8lecture111.html#:~:text=IQ%20tests%20are%20also%20criticized,in%20school%20and%20in%20life.

@InkyDarkBird said in #2:
> IQ does not directly correlate to chess skill.

That's not what I stated. What you wrote is too much of a simplification.

The hypothesis is that someone with IQ below 150 is unable to turn into a GM. This hypothesis could be contradicted by a GM who states his IQ is certainly below 150.

That does NOT imply that anyone with IQ above 150 will necessarily have the potential to be a GM.

My original point still stands.

@InkyDarkBird , no, your statement is pointless in the content of this thread, since chess skill also does not directly correlate to rating.

People like to think it does. They like to think that studying can continuously make their rating increase more and more. But that's just not true. It's a wishful thinking that's sustained by those who don't want to admit that they're just not intelligent enough to get past X rating points.

I'm sorry for those who won't like what I just wrote, but that's just what it seems, from what I've researched. Prove me wrong.

youtu.be/W9K-j47gZK8

I.Q. does not measure intelligence it measures test-taking.

I.Q. measures a very specific type of intelligence, but the result can be increased by practicing those kind of tests, which is indeed one way to increase that specific type of intelligence.

In that sense, chess is not too different. Our rating is also a "test-taking measure". Though chess tests for a broader set of intelligence, where the max performance (rating) also requires on lots of practicing and studying.

@EvilChess said in #6:
> @InkyDarkBird , no, your statement is pointless in the content of this thread, since chess skill also does not directly correlate to rating.
> People like to think it does. They like to think that studying can continuously make their rating increase more and more. But that's just not true. It's a wishful thinking that's sustained by those who don't want to admit that they're just not intelligent enough to get past X rating points.
> I'm sorry for those who won't like what I just wrote, but that's just what it seems, from what I've researched. Prove me wrong.

Hikaru Nakamura has a measured IQ of 102, which is not very high, (edit:this video seems to be fake) : www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGXdp5Xkpcs

>IQ -> Max rating potential
>?100 -> 2000; 110 -> 2100; 120 -> 2200 (CM);130 -> 2300 (FM); 140 -> 2400 (IM); 150 -> 2500 (GM); 180 -> 2800 (top players)
in fact his measured IQ is close to average and the to the bottom of your scale.

Hikaru is the 6th highest Elo in the world: ratings.fide.com/profile/2016192 at the moment.

Whilst this is not proof, it is at least an illustrative outlier showing that your hypothesis is not correct.

It's an interesting question. Let's park for the moment the question of what IQ tests actually measure, but just to say in passing that whilst they are problematic, they do seem to have some indicative power in relation to certain forms of intelligence, notably academic performance which, like it or not, is effectively a synonym for intelligence in most societies. You'll rarely meet someone who tested 130+ and come away thinking they were stupid. Socially inept maybe, but not stupid.

As the OP argues, pattern recognition is huge in chess. This probably is a function of intelligence to some degree, but what seems of even greater importance is the age at which you start learning these patterns. It's somewhat of a truism in chess that if you don't start playing at a very early age, you're very unlikely to be a very good player. Equally, if you take up the game late in life, there's a ceiling you're unlikely to break through, no matter how bright you are or how much you practice. This suggests to me that IQ is probably tangentially related to chess ability, but of superior importance is the neuroplasticity of youth. There will be many other factors too, but it seems plausible that someone with an average IQ, if they are taught pattern recognition early enough, could become a GM. Equally, someone with a high IQ, should they take the game up late in life, might never get above 1300.