The relationship of music and chess with technology

Keywords: Chess; Music; Pattern Recognition; Technology

Introduction

A myriad of studies and articles throughout time found that playing chess and listening to music are inextricably intertwined. Mathematical analysis can be applied to the study of musical patterns. Similarly, one might achieve success in the game of chess by making use of patterns and mathematical computations. Numerous scientific studies have been funded to examine the exquisite connection between chess and music. 'Pattern recognition' being the most important aspect of chess, it is theorised that listening to various forms of music will improve 'Pattern recognition'. Analogously, in chess, one may improve his or her pattern recognition by vigorously venturing multitudinous types of puzzles. 

📸 Chess growth from recent history; derived from n number of recorded games

The growth of chess and music through technology

Recent studies demonstrate that, similar to chess, the music industry's technological advancement has a significant role. The particular creation of the first phonograph and gramophone in the 1800s led to an unprecedented increase in sound recording. Not only has technology aided in the development of the chess skills of many professional players, but it has also served as an essential learning tool for many young chess prodigies on the rise.

📽️ Using computers and algorithms in chess and differences between AI and human

It is noteworthy to highlight that the majority of research findings indicate a linear positive association between technology and the advancement of music over time, relative to the improvement of technology in chess where there are conflicting opinions amongst top chess professionals 5 decades ago or today. Below is a video that summarizes the brief history of how technology has evolved to affect chess over recent times:

📽️ Conflicting negative influence of technology with chess and brief evaluation

Chess and music in history

In the past, it was commonly believed that chess's origins lie with practical composers who also possessed a good understanding of the game. Mental acuity and quick intuition play a significant influence in the ability to perform music and chess exceptionally well.

📸 Mischa Elman featuring in the 'New York Sun' in 1916

Elman was a world-famous musician who also appeared to be a proficient chess player. His altercation with the Maryland champion and victory are sufficient evidence that he was no ordinary patzer. He was also intelligent and modest enough to realise that just because he could play a little bit well did not mean he was good enough to challenge the world champion, as this would require him to train and play professionally to attain the required skill level, but he was clearly more interested in music.

Conflicting evidence

Contradictory evidence suggests that a meta-analysis (a study involving the comparison of multiple studies and research findings from specific experiments) has concluded that although children who knew music and how to play chess performed better on intelligence tests, these studies were deemed correlational, so it is difficult to establish a causal relationship between chess and music and intelligence.

Self-study

A recent pilot study was designed to evaluate the effects of noises and music during live chess games. Some variables such as the opponent, the colour of the pieces in each game, the time limit, and the genre of music or sound. The opponent was a chess.com blitz player with a rating of 2800 who desired to remain unidentified and was with black pieces for all the games, the time control was 3+0. Game 1 was played while listening to YouTube-suggested music (I Really Like You by Carly Rae Jepsen), Game 2 was played in utter quiet, and Game 3 was played with the default chess piece move sound (standard - lichess).

Game 1 - Listening to music

Game 2 - Complete silence

Game 3 - Standard lichess sound

Analysis and discussion

The results imply that listening to music may help you concentrate and play more slowly and precisely, hence reducing the likelihood of making mistakes due to hurrying. Game 1 demonstrates that it is possible to play better against opponents while listening to music and avoiding blunders, as seen in Games 2 and 3.

There are various flaws in the study's methodology that may have distorted the genuine meaning and conclusions. Here are some of the numerous examples:

• The opponent was not on par with the subject of the test.
• There were no repetitions within each category (listening to music etc).
• The experiment was conducted only at a particular level (2500-2800)
• The experiment only considered one particular time control
• The investigation did not consider the effect of music or sound on chess performance (i.e., different sounds or music could produce different results).
• Both the test subject or the opponent could have underperformed or overperformed due to misjudgement or unusual error during the experiment at any point of each category,

Conclusion

Chess and music have been linked by several scientists. Pattern recognition links both ideas. Listening to different music can help players understand the chessboard and advance the game. However, the analysis ignored other factors. This basic idea with regards to the connection between chess and music is unproven unless more research is done.