When I was a kid in Iran, much of my time was spent studying. Whatever free time I had, I spent it reading or playing games. Tag, hide-and-seek, Lego, soccer, card games—you name it, we played it.
Perhaps the least popular game we played was chess. Why? Because it involved no physical activity, could only be played by two people, and the general consensus was that it bored everybody else to death.
I think the boredom came from how difficult chess was to understand. Unlike soccer or tag, the point of what happens on a chessboard is not always obvious until several moves later.
After all, although learning the rules of chess is relatively easy, understanding the game enough to play well can be quite hard. You need to anticipate your opponent’s moves, consider possible responses, examine different lines of play and their consequences, evaluate the resulting positions, and then choose the best move.
But does being good at chess mean you're smart? And does playing chess make you smarter?
There is good evidence that chess skill is associated with a number of cognitive abilities. A large meta-analysis found that chess skill was modestly related to abilities like fluid reasoning, short-term memory, and numerical ability. In other words, people who were better at chess tended to perform better on some cognitive tests.
But this does not mean playing chess increases intelligence. For instance, someone who is good at chess may already have a higher IQ to begin with.
To investigate causality, researchers have conducted studies in which children receive chess instruction regularly and are then tested on cognitive abilities and performance in subjects such as reading and mathematics.
A meta-analysis of 24 studies found some benefits associated with chess instruction, particularly in mathematics. But the studies had important limitations, making it difficult to tell how much of those benefits came from chess itself.
In short, we still don't have strong evidence that playing chess makes people more intelligent or raises their IQ.
But there is another way to think about the value of chess. Even if skills learned in chess do not transfer directly to other areas, the game requires us to repeatedly practice cognitive skills like paying attention to details and making decisions under uncertainty.
On a personal level, I have found another potential benefit of playing chess: it kept exposing my own bad habits. The more I played, the more I noticed that the same patterns showed up in my life.
So let me tell you a little about them.
What chess has taught me about life
- Think ahead—but expect to be surprised
Chess rewards thinking ahead, but it also teaches that predictions can fail spectacularly. As a result, players learn to anticipate multiple ways their opponent might respond. Life is, of course, even less predictable, and our plans are disrupted all the time (my own computer froze halfway through writing this article and my file just disappeared!). So, in order to prepare for the inevitable obstacles, having backup plans isn't just smart; it's essential.
- Don't underestimate the little things
In chess, the pawns are the least powerful pieces, yet pawn structures can decide games. Similarly, a little time spent exercising, meditating, or reading may not seem significant on a particular day, but repeated over time, healthy habits can build a strong foundation for a better life.
- Every choice has a cost
Chess teaches you that a move that strengthens some squares can weaken others. In life, too, every choice opens some doors and closes others. Time spent working is time that cannot also be spent with family, for instance. Therefore, it is useful to think carefully about the tradeoffs with every major decision and ask, "Am I willing to pay the price?"
- Stay steady
I have lost chess games because after a blunder, I lost hope, or after an opponent’s mistake, I became overconfident. So the lesson is not to become preoccupied with either failure or success along the way to the goal. Learning to regulate our emotions can help us remain more steady.
5. Make a plan but be flexible
Winning at chess requires a plan, but the one that made sense ten moves ago may make no sense now because your opponent responded differently than expected, creating a whole new threat or opportunity. Learning to respond to those changes taught me an important lesson about resilience: I had been confusing it with stubbornness. But resilience is not about sticking with the same plan no matter what. To be resilient means recognizing when circumstances have changed and adapting our response as needed. A flexible mindset requires continually reassessing the situation as things change. Perhaps the original plan can still work with some modifications. Or maybe you need a totally new plan.
6. Think strategically, act tactically
In chess, strategy is about the larger plan, whereas tactics are about the immediate moves that turn an opportunity into an advantage. I think the same distinction can be useful in life. Strategy is putting yourself in situations where good opportunities are more likely to appear. Tactics are recognizing those opportunities and acting on them. We need both to succeed.
Takeaway
Although published research so far has found little evidence that chess makes us smarter, I feel the game still has a lot to teach us.
As an amateur chess player, I noticed that the game brought me face-to-face with the same weaknesses I struggled with in real life: rushed decisions, discouragement after mistakes, overconfidence after success, and a tendency to stick with plans that were no longer feasible.
Chess taught me that sometimes the best thing we can do is step away from our preoccupation with past mistakes and fantasies of future success, see the position we are in with clear eyes, and assess it honestly.
And then, make a move.