Do you have to be "smart" to play chess?

Hikaru's IQ is right around the average level, but he seems to be a pretty OK player.

Normally it goes like this:

0-1800 players - "No, are you crazy chess has nothing to do with intelligence" (I`m laughing hard at this one actually)

1801-2300 - players -"Well perhaps there is some correlation but the correlation is weak"

2301-3000+ players - SILENCE

My answer is as follows: Yes, the more intelligent you are the more likely you are to be more successful at chess than somebody else who has put in the same work or even more. The pattern recognition example is pure nonsense because pattern recognition in itself is a significant component of intelligence. Therefore saying you just need to be good at pattern recognition is also nonsense. Pattern recognition will only get you so far as there will come a point in the game where the opponents reasoning and problem solving skills will tip the scales in his favour if he is the more intelligent person. Yes memorisation and knowledge about the game play a part but all things equal they will not be enough.

I`ll give you and example, my brother hates chess, does not play a lot, does not know the name of a single opening, has not read even one book on chess and he is 1600+ Now compare that to all the people here taking lessons, reading books, solving puzzles etc and can`t even make 1200.

Chess is primarily a problem solving activity and if you need to be intelligent to be good at problem solving you will have very hard time convincing me you don`t need to be intelligent to be good at chess.

You also need to understand something else. A lot of people took up chess to prove to themselves and the world how intelligent they are. When they failed to succeed at chess they had no choice but to start defending the other thesis, namely that chess has got nothing to do with intelligence to make themselves feel better

There is also the "Hikaru says chess is not about intelligence" argument. I don`t think when Hikaru says chess is not about intelligence but about pattern recognition he realises pattern recognition is in fact a component of intelligence so it amazes me this self-refuting idea keeps being regurgitated by the people above. Also asking Hikaru if chess is about intelligence is like asking Nike`s CEO if only tall people should play basketball. It should be obvious that any answer other than "No" will hurt sales significantly. Even though Hikaru`s case there is no ulterior motive necessarily, I do not believe his IQ test result can be trusted as there is a lot at stake for him personally, financially, overall chess popularity wise etc. I believe he just does not want to hurt the popularity of the game by saying what should otherwise be obvious to any intelligent person namely that chess is primarily a problem solving activity and the more intelligent you are the more likely you are to be a better problem solver.

No, but it helps. As a comparison, many people who play tennis and golf but have no natural skills to ever play decently continue to do so. The point is that they still enjoy it knowing that they suck and also knowing that no matter how hard they try to improve they will never get better. Mic drop!