Why You Should Learn Chess? Top 10 Benefits of Chess

Most of the children love to play outdoor games like football, cricket, basketball. These games make them physically active and improves physically related skills but what about mental strength and mind related skills? The answer is Chess! As I quote "Chess is a mental Gym". Chess is an indoor game. It is an epic game with attacks, battles, strategies and much more.

Chess game is very easy to learn. One can learn the basics of game within 1 week time and is ready to play beautiful game of chess. It is a perfect game to play it as a hobby. The game can be played anywhere and; you just need one chess set and that's it.

5 Reasons to Play Chess

1. Chess for All - Anyone can play this game. Small kids play this game to develop their mental skills whereas senior citizens play this game to have fun and pass their time in a productive way. This game has no barriers to play, even handicapped, blind people or people having mental disorders like alzheimers play this game.
2. No major investment - You just need to buy the chessboard. One can learn the basics of the game by taking knowledge from the internet which is completely free.
3. Indoor game - Outdoor games have the danger to be interrupted by external events. Chess can be played throughout the year with no worries.
4. Both Individual game and Team game! - Chess is individual game but the pieces on the chessboard is your team and you need to include each of them while playing to win the game. So this game provides the experience and at the same time develops the qualities of both individual and team game.
5. Mental Gym - Playing Chess exercises your brain. You need to think a lot in order to make strategies, prevent opponent's ideas, to make decisions etc. This keeps your brain active and helps in a number of ways.

Benefits of Playing Chess

1.  Improves Concentration/Focus:Players have to be concentrated while playing this game. In chess, consistency is very important. Even if you make 99 good moves and just 1 mistake, it completely turns the table.
2. Improves Memory and Intelligence:Chess training can boost your memory and increase your IQ level. This has been proves in many scientific studies.
3. Improves Imagination, Visualization Skills:While playing chess you need to think deeply, have to move the pieces in your head to imagine the various positions and then make decisions.
4. Develops Patience: The classical format of the game consists of 60 mins + 30 secs increment for each player. The game can continue for 3 to 4 hrs. This needs a lot of patience because players know that one single mistake can cost them a whole game.
5. Develops Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills:Every time you are faced with certain problems to solve while playing chess. This forces you to think and find a way out of the situation. To solve one problem their could be many ways, we need to eliminate bad options and reach the best moves.
6. Develops Planning Skills:Planning is very important in Chess. One needs to plan his attacks or strategies in order to defeat the opponent. It has the same importance as we have seen in the historic battles.
7. Enhances Calculation and Decision Making Skills:Chess also trains calculation and decision making abilities. Every move we play is based on some decision, our decisions has the impact on the whole game. In order to make right decisions, players need to calculate.
8. Elevates Creativity:There is a lot of scope for creativity. When one starts playing chess and feels it beauty then he will understand the creativity of great players.
9. Increases Self Awareness:Our brain is active all the time. We have to be alert while playing chess it avoid making big mistakes.
10. Stimulates Brain Growth: Game of Chess exercises both sides of the brain. It also helps in the growth of dendrites. This keeps us away from many mental disorders.

I hope you find my article useful. Thanks for reading.