Benefits of Playing Chess By Sasmita Mohanty

Being a passionate Chess player and Coach, Loves to play chess with different players in various tournaments. I learned Chess from my father at the age of 9yrs and participated in local, State  level tournaments and gradually shifted to National Level Tournaments. It gave me an immense pleasure and happiness. I did Master in Computer Application and worked as IT Professional for 12years. Now taking chess as my profession and sharing my knowledge with other kids.

Through this article, I would like to share some of my thoughts on the topic “Benefit of Playing Chess“ which would highlight some of the key nuances of game.

Chess is one of the best sports to exercise the brain. While Chess Grandmaster Bobby Fischer made it popular in the 1950s and 1960s, the game is still widely played around the world today among participants of all ages, from the young to the elderly. Kids love to play chess. The game of chess might not help you build your biceps or tone your abs, but your lifelong mental health can certainly benefit from it. It’s a great hobby to pick up and keep our brain engaged !

Number 1 Fitness trainer in America, Samir recommends chess as the best brain exercise to play while social distancing. “Chess is the best game to play with your family, especially your kids while at home due to the COVID pandemic. Besides improving your cognitive skills, it allows you to better cope with the current situation because it improves your problem-solving skills and occupies the mind in a positive way.”

• Promotes brain growth: Games like chess that challenge the brain actually stimulate the growth of dendrites, the bodies that send out signals from the brain’s neuron cells. With more dendrites, neural communication within the brain improves and becomes faster. Think of your brain as a computer processor. The tree-like branches of dendrites fire signals that communicate to other neurons, which makes that computer processor operate at a fast, optimal state. Interaction with people in challenging activities also fuels dendrite growth, and chess is a perfect example.

• It exercises both sides of the brain: A German study indicated that when chess players were asked to identify chess positions and geometric shapes, both the left and right hemispheres of the brain became highly active. Their reaction times to the simple shapes were the same, but the experts were using both sides of their brains to more quickly respond to the chess position questions.

• Increases problem-solving skills: A chess match requires fast thinking and problem-solving on the fly because your opponent is constantly changing the parameters. A 1992 study conducted on 450 fifth-grade students in New Brunswick indicated that those who learned to play chess scored significantly higher on standardized tests compared to those who did not play chess.

• Improves recovery from stroke or disability:Chess develops fine motor skills in individuals who have a disability or have suffered a stroke or other physically debilitating accidents. This form of rehabilitation requires the motion of chess pieces in different directions (forward, backward, diagonally forward motion, diagonally backward motion), which can help develop and fine-tune a patient’s motor skills, while the mental effort required to play the game can improve cognitive and communication skills. Playing can also stimulate deep concentration and calm, helping to center and relax patients who are experiencing different degrees of anxiety.

At the end I would like to thank everyone interested in learning about Chess and growing passion on knowing about the game and its benefits. Today Chess has brought many people across the nations together and create new thinking among the new generation. Thank you all for reading through my article and let us know your views by email to mesasmita@yahoo.com.

Sasmita Mohanty is a Chess Player & Coach in the US.

She can be contacted at: mesasmita@yahoo.com