Extrapolating IQ scores to potential in chess
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Oct 18, 2017
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#2
There has been research. My IQ is 152 and I am somewhere around 1100-1200 skill level. Kep in mind though in 4 months of play that is really good. I've known people playing 2 years and never got over 800 USCF. So mabye there is. Also Bobby Fischer never took a IQ test I do not think.
IQ tests, and the entire concept of IQ, are worthless fluffery. All that matters is what you can do in the moment. Long ago, a psychologist told me I had a very high IQ, and I laughed in his face, just like I am laughing now in yours.
Oct 18, 2017
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#8
My IQ is allegedly 157 according to Mensa but was a still very good 132 on the last serious test I took in high school. I went on to get a masters in chemistry and bachelors in physics and within a few years was chief chemist for process research and development for a subsidiary of Dow Chemical.
That did not help me with quick (less than 90 min on the clock chess games). I play about 1400 in 30min OTB games and 1600 or better in 60 min or longer OTB games. My USCF Correspondence rating from the pre-home-computer, scanty-literature 1970's is 2116 and I qualified for the Semifinals in the USCF 1977 Golden Knights.
So I think a solid IQ helps you understand chess, but I don't think you get good -blunder free- in quick games except through frequent repetition and lots of time - something I've never had enough of to devote to chess.
Kasparov has an IQ of 135 and he not only was the champ, but dominated (this side of Karpov and the 21st century).
Oct 18, 2017
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#10
dannyhume wrote:
Kasparov has an IQ of 135 and he not only was the champ, but dominated (this side of Karpov and the 21st century).
Kasparov has near-photographic memory though (if not true photographic memory, he is reluctant to speak about his gifts).
Oct 18, 2017
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#11
I think those with high IQs are probably very alert problem solvers, which would of course be essential for chess, but I also think that someone who may not have a genius IQ, the creative, thinking outside of the box type let's say, may also have tools that the mechanical problem solver does not. I know those two can go hand in hand, the person with a high IQ could be great at both, but what I'm saying is that I think two people with different strengths and different ways of thinking, could be amazing chess players regardless of IQ
Based on my SAT and achievement scores from 1972 (think multiple 800s) I would be eligible to join Mensa, the top two percent, if I cared to. Based on some of the things I did after that, I would be eligible to join its sister organization Densa, the bottom two percent, if I cared to.
Oct 18, 2017
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#14
I bet no one in the top ten isn't at least slightly above average.
Oct 18, 2017
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#15
Einstein actually had a below average IQ. He couldn't even talk till the age of 5. Just goes to show how hard work pays off.
GMs Ben Finegold and Simon Williams recently had a death match and they both displayed exemplary IQs during their commentary. I gained IQ points just from watching it. 
Oct 18, 2017
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#17
Are we talking Intelligence Quotient or Idiot Quotient? Some days my IQ is pretty high.
go below
be, dont try to control.
I recently took a real IQ test (not these fake internet ones). Two tasks stood out to me:
1) Progressive matrices where you had to guess the missing tile. It's supposed to test Logical Reasoning.
2) Arranging cubes to make the proposed figures in the least amount of time. It's supposed to test Spatial Reasoning.
Now I haven't read any study as to what cognitive abilities does chess work, but these two seem like a good guess (especially Spatial Reasoning).
So my question is: based on your scores on these tests is it possible to guess what your max rating will be in chess, provided you work hard and put forth your due diligence?
For example let's say a representative sample of chess players takes these tests and we record the scores. If a person who likes chess but is a complete beginner, comes and scores say three standard deviations above the mean of our population of chess players (99.7 percentile), does that mean that if he were to work hard, he could one day reach the title of International Master (according to Wikipedia "An International Master is usually in the top 0.25% of all tournament players at the time he or she receives the title")?
(Please pardon my math, I've never taken Statistics in my life)
There seems to be an obvious correlation between intelligence and chess (I think I heard Bobby Fischer's IQ was about 180 or something like that, I could be wrong) but obviously verbal abilities and the like don't have any impact when playing a game of chess. Should chess coaches start giving these tests to novice players to gauge their potential chess ability?