Why chess is important?

1. Sharpens Cognitive Skills Boosts Critical Thinking: Every move requires deep thought, evaluating multiple lines of play, and anticipating your opponent's responses. This is a direct exercise in "what if" scenario planning. Improves Concentration and Focus: To succeed, you must block out distractions and focus intensely on the board, a skill transferable to studying and exams. Develops Problem-Solving: Chess presents a continuous stream of complex problems, forcing you to find creative and effective solutions under pressure. This directly aids in Mathematics and Reasoning. 2. Cultivates Discipline and Patience Teaches Planning and Foresight: Chess rewards those who think several moves ahead. It instills the habit of long-term planning rather than acting on impulse, which is essential for academic and career goals. Encourages Responsibility: You must own the consequences of your choices. A mistake on the board teaches you the importance of careful decision-making in real life.

Those are noteworthy observations; however, any goal-oriented activity is likely to claim the same above-listed" benefits". Whether or not any of what you have listed is actually true is debatable; it is certainly possible, but its also quite likely not to be. It would be reassuring to think so given the time that we devote to this activity. I doubt chess sharpens critical thinking or leads to any type of measurable improvement across a broad range of skills. It is more likely that people with those skills, for whatever reason, gravitate to, or are over-represented in chess. Responsibility, like On the Origin of Species--always quoted, hardly read--is over-rated. My own thoughts are that the attributes you listed are analogous to f(x)=y; number in=number out---a person has these attributes when they start playing, chess doesn't give it to them. I value chess for the simple reason that I do, not because I believe there is something special about it.