Maths can teach how you to count, English can teach you how to speak /read & science can teach you how to experiment. But chess can open paths to life in so many different ways that school/collage intelligence can't provide. I can't describe all the reasons why, but I base my theory on this. To much chess can make you over think away from the game. But the right amount of chess can bring on other skills in life you didn't already have or thought you had. The word analyzing is the biggest reward chess can bring to ones life, the brain is like PC processor & always needs updating/upgrading, without challenging the brain & it's cells, then how can the brain grow,repair & get wiser? Continious upgrades are needed for the brain to stay young,fresh & healthy, without doing some kind of real structer brain work and development the brain will stay the same or deteriorate over time.
"The biggest remedy in life is a combination of Exercise/Chess"