Chess: Good For Your Brain Health

Good for your brain health, what is? A game of chess. It's said to be very therapeutic at this time particularly. If you're in lockdown or stuck at home unable to be with your friends chess can occupy you and take your mind off the anxiety of the Pandemic.

 And boredom is kept at bay for a few hours at any rate. I was so happy to see my teenaged grandsons deep in a game of chess last year while forced to stay home from school. I never thought they would get into it to such a degree when I bought it as a present for one of them. The family dog bit into one of the pieces but that didn't stop their game.

 Playing chess can improve your memory because of the complex rules that you have to employ when you want to make a move. Not only that, it's very important to be able to remember the playing style of your opponent.

So to be a good chess player you really do need an excellent memory. It can significantly improve your verbal skills, as well.

Enhances Reading Skills

In a study in 1991 by Dr. Stuart Margulies, it's suggested that school students who participated in playing chess have a significant increase in their reading performance. Kids from a district where average kids were tested below the national average, who participated in a chess program, have increased their performance in reading.

Develops Planning and Foresight

So say the experts. The prefrontal cortex is the last part of the brain that develops during adolescence. And that area is responsible for rational thinking, self-control, judgment, and planning.

Since chess requires strategic and critical thinking, the game helps in the development of the prefrontal cortex, which helps adolescents to make better choices in all areas of their life to keep them from making irresponsible and risky choices. Very good news.

Problem Solving Skills

When playing chess, you must think fast, and your problem-solving skills must be good because your opponent constantly changes the parameters.

A little more information, according to a 1992 study in New Brunswick conducted on 450 fifth-grade students, those who played chess have significantly higher scores on tests than those who did not play chess.