How to Boost Your Intelligence and Brain Power with Chess

Chess really adds skills to our brain such as strategic thinking

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I have been watching the world chess Championship nowadays and following it with excitement every day since last week.

I learned to play chess from my father when I was 8 years old. 
Then I started playing regularly with my cousin.

I remember being eliminated in the semifinals of a chess tournament in middle school. After that, chess remained a fun hobby for me and I didn’t spend much time improving it.

While watching the final of the ongoing world chess tournament, I realized that my interest in chess has increased again, and with the help of some resources and analysis, I planned to improve it by allocating 30 minutes a day.

Chess really adds skills to our brain such as strategic thinking, quick decision-making, and thinking. I realize this myself and I have prepared this article to share with you the other benefits I have gained as a result of the research I have done below.

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Chess has been with us for hundreds of years, across countless cultures and historical periods. 

A glimpse into the development of the game’s history opens a fascinating window into cultural evolution and takes our minds to distant lands and epochs.

The exact origin of chess is a great mystery. There are few ancient texts that speak of its beginnings and even fewer chess pieces that remain as physical evidence of the game’s early existence. 

But legends, theories, and opinions abound! Most historians believe it started in India, Persia, or China.

But there is much we do know. The form of chess that eventually reached Europe was played in Persia about 1350 years ago when it was conquered by Muslim armies in the mid-7th century. 

The game became very popular in the Muslim world and was carried throughout Islam in North Africa and eventually to Europe.

Scientific research conducted by Japanese researchers by identifying the areas where chess players’ brain activity is concentrated has revealed that professional chess players use hidden parts of their brains to make their moves.

Benefits of Playing Chess

• Playing chess keeps young minds away from harmful habits.
  
• It helps us to act in a planned manner.
  
• It allows us to make fast and correct decisions.
  
• It makes it easier for us to use and develop the brain we have.
  
• It is useful in the positive development of our personality.
  
• It instills a sense of self-confidence in the individual.
  
• It prevents distraction.
  
• It takes people away from a rote memorization mentality.
  
• It has been observed that people who play chess have higher thinking, research, judgment, and interpretation skills.
  
• It helps to work systematically, regularly, and disciplined.
  
• It instills the spirit of perseverance and struggles in the face of failure.
  
• It increases internal motivation.
  
• Playing chess increases the sense of responsibility.
  
• It is very useful for the development of memory.
  
• It increases concentration.
  
• Our brain cells are very useful for improving the speed of learning.
  
• It teaches that some losses can be experienced in order to win.
  
• It shows that there is more than one way to the goal.
  
• Allows the development of visual intelligence
  
• Increases success in mathematics and geometry.
  
• Playing chess is extremely important for developing not only visual but also numerical and verbal intelligence.
  
• Research in the USA has shown that chess is definitely an educational tool.

Source: https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2016/study-links-intelligence-and-chess-skill

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