There are many ways to improve your intellectual abilities but nothing compares to a chess game. Chess is one of the most popular and respected games throughout the world; it is considered to be a game of intellectuals. So there must be something to this game that attracts people towards it. This game is always associated with intelligence and strategy. There are many ways through which it provides a wholesome development for your brain. A healthy brain is bound to make you more creative, skillful, and efficient. Let us see how playing chess online can help you grow intellectually. Our claims are backed by interesting studies for your reference.
8 benefits of playing chess online
Increases your Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
Robert Fergusson has mentioned one study that included 4000 students from Venezuela. In this research, a significant improvement was seen in the IQ scores of students after playing chess for four months. Here’s a fun question for you to think about; Are smart people attracted to chess or does playing chess make people smarter? Play chess on MPL to answer this question for yourself.
Could Help to Prevent Alzheimer’s disease
Just like our body, our brain needs exercise to function and remain efficient. It is no different than your biceps or quad. An online chess game is a great way to exercise this muscle and get the most out of it. The New England Journal of Medicine has published a study which showcases how people over 75 that indulge in activities like chess are less likely to have dementia. Unused brain tissues will eventually lose their power. So there’s another reason for you to play chess.
Exercises both hemispheres of the brain
A study in Germany proved how there were differences between the brains of novice players and chess experts. When novice players were shown geometric shapes and chess positions, only the left hemisphere of their brain was working but the experts were using both hemispheres to analyze. So if you play chess online more than the average person, it is likely that you will start using a larger part of your brain for thinking.
Boosts your creativity
The right hemisphere of our brain deals with creativity. So since both hemispheres of our brain are activated, we shouldn’t be surprised to know that playing chess can boost your creativity. To support this claim, we want you to know about a study that Robert Ferguson worked on for four years. He made students of 7th grade to 9th grade do an activity once throughout the week. One group was assigned with chess and the others were given other activities. After 32 weeks, the students of the chess group portrayed the highest amount of creativity where originality was the main factor.
Also Read: Key Life Lessons in Chess
Improvement in memory
Chess players have an impeccable memory because they need to recall chess positions, their opponent’s gameplay, and a lot of things while playing chess. In another interesting experiment that was conducted in 1985, students who played chess had improved their grades, memory, and organizational skills. This was also found in a study from Pennsylvania. Not just memory, but students who never played chess before had also improved their verbal communication.
Advances problem-solving abilities
When you play chess online, you feel you are solving a puzzle that always keeps changing within seconds. A study that was conducted in New Brunswick, 1992 showed how the grades of the students who were taught chess went up compared to students who didn’t play chess. They were judged based on their mathematics scores which are mostly about problem-solving. Problem-solving abilities will help you in any facet of life, so it becomes one of the most valuable skills that can be derived out of chess.
Concentration is improved
Most advanced level chess players look like crazy scientists or professors but the reason behind this persona is the intense level of concentration that is required while playing chess. If a player looks away or thinks about anything else for even a moment then that breaks their stream of thought and affects their game negatively. Numerous studies were conducted in countries like the U.S., China and Russia which have proved that playing chess can indeed improve your concentration. So play chess if concentrating is difficult for you, it is even more important for us now when our brains have lost attention span because of too much dopamine.
Here are a few must-know online chess opening traps to get you started with the game.
Final Thoughts
So these are all the benefits that playing chess can give you. A great place to start is on the MPL chess app. Play the chess game online and have fun while you simultaneously develop yourself. This chess game has already transformed many players and now it is your turn.
