Playing Chess vs. Improving on Chess. What's the difference?

I started playing chess when I was around nine years old. The lockdown, which forced us to stay at home, was a very depressing time for me. One day, my mother bought me a chess and draughts set. I learnt the very basic rules of both chess and draughts from the instruction manual. I played against my father, often winning, despite having little knowledge of chess.

Here are the reasons why I play chess:

1. Improved cognitive skills

Research studies have shown that playing chess improves skills such as memory, problem-solving and planning. This development supports neural connections, enhancing both short and long-term memory recall. As chess players play, they learn skills such as opening sequences, tactics and endgame strategies. My IQ has also improved since I started playing chess.

2. Boosts pattern recognition

As chess is a mental sport, puzzles also help improve memory, since they usually help understand recurring patterns on the board. This requires players to critically think and developing effective strategies. Co-ordinate training is also a great example of this, especially when writing notation during long games (eg. 90 | 30).

3. Increased attention span

Most professional players also have the ability to concentrate on the game, often leading to success. Usually, chess tournaments reinforce silence, allowing players to focus on the game without any distractions. Sometimes, I get distracted by noises, which lets the sound straight into my ear, causing me to lose attention.

4. Reduced stress

Typically, a lot of people get stressed some time during their life, and this is normal. As I said earlier, sounds disrupt me, which attracts me for a long time. Feeling calm and relaxed generates "the flow" whilst also linking with concentration. This also increases emotional intelligence.

5. Social Interaction

Playing chess (both over-the-board and online) improves social skills. This allows the players to chat while still focusing on chess to chat away. These skills enable effective communication, allowing people to listen actively and respond at the right time. According to research, social skills have also increased one's confidence, playing an important role in many areas of life.

Overall, these factors significantly helped me while playing chess. They also supported me with important life skills (eg. planning) and long-term effects, often leading to a more organised life.

Chess Improvement Before vs. After

When I started playing chess, I barely knew any of the chess rules, like all players. One time, I thought I would win by capturing the king, forgetting about checks and checkmates. At the time, it was a game that confused me because chess requires strategy and thinking. I would usually win by doing the illegal strategy until I was around nearly ten years old.

Beginners often blunder, lacking a deep understanding of the game. However, more advanced players have more knowledge of the game. These players often have prepared strategies (usually from recalled memory and past games), while demonstrating better calculation. This also helps them to easily identify their opponent's mistake(s).  Therefore, they blunder less often, though they can still make mistakes, which is perfectly normal.

A typical player usually expects chess improvement before a game. However, according to the above graph, a player may perform better or worse than expected. That usually depends on their performance rating and their move reaction against the opponent. Don't over-obsess about the game result; that will also affect your chess improvement, as it creates anxiety over time during a chess game.

For the average chess player, their FIDE rating is approximately between 1200-1600. Other chess websites may have different averages, such as chess.com's average rating of around 800 Elo points. Since chess.com has different average ratings for different time controls (eg. bullet), the overall average Elo may be skewed. Other chess websites don't have the same average Elo rating, contributing to that.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog, and it would be great to see you again soon!

Sarah Cheung