Is Chess Really Good for Your Brain?

lol Amen brotha

LOL

What has all this got to do with the topic  ?

I once read an article saying that children who play chess have a higher GPA in certain subjects such as math and english than children who don't. This could all be hogwash, but i believe it does improve the mind's abilities.

Or it attracts people who are good at those things.

Exercising the brain, in of itself, is healthy. But there are many other ways of doing it besides chess: bingo, crossword puzzles, bridge, etc. I find the argument that playing chess makes you better at dealing with life totally false. Playing and studying chess only make you better at chess. Chess is a very double-edged, intense, compulsive, and addictive activity. I'm sure it as adversely affected many relationships.

 Ha! Very nice!

One of my friends sent me a link to a study that showed that LSD may cure alcoholism. He asked if I was a participant. I replied, yes, but, instead of being cured, I simply added another vice...

I think you misunderstand the statement. The statement draws on the idea that if you apply the principles and habits formed by chess study it will improve your ability to handle life's issues. Principles and habits such as objective and creative thinking, the ability to form a plan and follow through with it, taking the time to understand before acting and being patient, good work ethic and handling stressful situations effectively, personal responsibility, among others, are all traits that will benefit in everyday life. The statement is therefore true and I think you've misunderstood what the statement implies.

 Sorry, Jordan, but your post made me laugh. West is correct in his descriptions of (some) good brain exercises. Your comment basically states things we learn mostly from our parents, but also through our different experiences.

I'm not saying that other activities won't give you similar results. But to say that the statement that "chess helps you deal with life" is false is incorrect. It does help you when you apply the principles and habits formed through chess study. The ability to get those same principles and habits elsewhere doesn't make the statement any less true. You both seem to have completely missed the point of the statement.

 Um, no. We didn't miss anything. Perhaps you have.

Learning and playing chess may help one's brain, but you are describing a lifestyle. There are some ways playing chess is deconstructive (becoming addicted, developing a narrow-mindset where only chess matters). In these examples, playing the game hurts one's development. 

Chess has helped me to become a better person in life and you better believe it you bunch of @#$ losers!

That has nothing to do with the statement. Addiction is a function of the person which is outside the scope of any activity such as chess. You don't learn addiction through chess, nor do you learn that only chess matters through playing chess. You do however learn, or can learn, the things I have listed in my previous posts. I'm not describing a lifestyle, I am describing what one can learn through chess and apply outside of chess, which is what the statement implies, and what is true.

 HA!!!!!

+1

Chess is the brain booster. It is a game which activates both left and right part the brain.

Chess involves all levels of critical thinking, including analysis and evaluation. Chess improves problem-solving skills. Chess encourages people to overcome the fear of risk taking. Chess teaches concentration and self-discipline. Chess enables people to assume responsibility for their decisions. Chess raises self-esteem and promotes good sportsmanship. Chess encourages socialization skills that extend across cultures and generations.

Playing chess developes neurones and dendrites which increases the potential of the brain, it broadens your horizon of allday life.

If someone only sits behind a chessboard playing chess and does nothing else then maybe this someone doesnt progress at all but I still doubt that.

 I agree that chess can be a "brain booster" and improve concentration, but I respectfully disagree with the rest. I have been playing serious chess since 1973. I have met very social well-rounded people, the polar opposite, and everything in between. I just don't believe that chess has a significant positive effect on people. If anything I tend to see more of the opposite. People who make a living teaching or promoting chess want us to believe that it can make people better. I don't buy it.

My daily work with Horowitz, Chess Openings: Theory and Practice when I was in high school was one of the most useful exercises that prepared me for doctoral work that began a decade later. For me, chess study made it easier to get a PhD. This is not to say, however, that study skills developed through chess obsession necessarily transfer in all cases. For some, they may distract.

A man goes to the doctor and says, "Doc., every time I drink coffee, I get terrible pains in my eye."
The doctor says, "Try taking the spoon out."

chess is good because it helps people to think about there daily lives