IQ and Chess: The Real Relationship

Sam_Montgomery, thank you for your constructive comment: reading it was equivalent to having an epiphany of epic proportions - such that would change the entire understanding of how our universe functions!

Oh, I'm sorry, I must have confused you with an individual who comes here to try to put down somebody who actually puts some effort into their research and is capable of backing up their statements with valid information.

If you read more carefully, I'm VERY open to changing my position if you provide me with valid information that contradicts what I've stated. It's called having an open mind. Try it out, you may like it. :)

 I'm honestly not sure at whom the sarcasm is pointed at in this case. >_>

But for reference, I did all the research I could. I'm obviously no scientist, but I use the studies of other REAL scientists for what I've written. :)

Besides, it's just an interesting topic to ponder, nothing ground-breaking to marvel at.

tonydal, your sarcasm may win you a Noddy Badge, but your tactlessness won't. Why can't you just accept that some people take things a little more seriously? Perhaps you are the only "soi-disant" to (dis)grace this thread. 

I'd like to make it perfectly clear that I DO NOT take this as a very serious matter: if I did, wouldn't I try to publish it in some scientific journal? :)

I simple started this topic as a foundation for healthy discussion. To be fair, I expected people to put effort into their statements, as I did. I'm very open and willing to changing my overall view on this, granted the proof is provided. :)

 Yep.

I agree, NatefJay's point is definitely strong, but for the purposes of this article, I'm focusing on chess! XD

In any case, I'm not trying to put down people who don't play chess well or have a low IQ - just trying to point to a relationship. Just objective points. I want to see if there are any discoveres / studies that could improve the accuracy of what I've found, or that could contradict my article.

Anybody?

What is the point? How would this information be useful?

 junk critic

 that's for you to figure out...he can only show you the door, but it is you who must go through it.

 Thats funny.

I guess the reasoning could be that if chess players are more intelligent than non-chess players, you should be thought of as intelligent because you play chess.

This reasoning fails on a couple of logical grounds but it does explain some people's facination with the question.

http://userblogs.chessxpress.com/general-chess/chess-and-iq-a-mystery/

chesse_chames definitely knows what he's talking about! ;)

But frankly, I think a reasonable application would be to help children improve their visualization abilities, and not only when it comes to chess. And if you think the point of this article is to extract those whom you would call "idiots", then you're completely missing the point. Anything that has the potential to improve cognitive abilities in kids should be heeded.

All I'm doing is collecting information and placing one small splinter of wood in the whole foundation. If you want to negatively criticise me because you believe me purposes are to put somebody down, then it's your loss as an individual.

I definitely do not consider this research to be significant. I KNOW there are others who have created much, MUCH more conclusive and groundbreaking material on this subject than I have - but I'm providing what I am able to, in hopes that people here could at least learn something interesting. It would be decent of you as a human being to respect that.

I posted this link because it looks like parts of the original essay were taken directly from the above article without attribution.

When I see someone write what looks like a very well-written article, the first thought I have is that it is copied.

 Thanks for the notification! I actually commented there as StairwayToTruth. I had originally written this article under a different username and account on this website (on February 14th, 2009), and somebody decided to recopy parts of it and post it there. I definitely do not approve of plagiarism.

I noticed too. I'm glad you elaborated. I wasn't sure whether it would be obvious to others.

I'm actually quite glad that I have it saved in my documents as of 2 - 14 - 2009. Otherwise I'd have no way to legally claim that I'd written the entire article, or even parts of it. Thank you, Microsoft Word! :D

 So, if  someone followed the link, they would see your comment?

Very interesting article. Thank you for sharing.

truth's hypo is:

 'There is a definite correlation between IQ (intelligence quotient) and general chess rating / level of chess play.'

Natejay said.

There is a fine line to this argument that is cause and effect.  Do intellegent people seek stimulating games resulting in intelegent people finding chess? 

I might be wrong on this. But it you want to find out if there is a correlation between chess rating and IQ you only need chess players.