The short answer
Chess is often sold as a brain booster: higher IQ, better grades, protection against dementia. The research supports a much smaller claim.
What the evidence clearly shows is that playing chess makes you better at chess. Strong players build up a huge memory of patterns that lets them see good moves at a glance. What the evidence does not clearly show is that those skills spread to other areas of life. Psychologists call that “far transfer”, and after decades of studies on chess, music and brain-training, the leading reviewers conclude that it rarely happens (Sala & Gobet, 2017).
That does not mean chess is useless for the mind. It is concentrated, effortful thinking, it is social, and staying mentally active is associated with healthier ageing. It just isn’t a pill. The rest of this page goes through each claim and what the studies actually found.
Try it: the 5-second memory test
This is a simplified version of a famous experiment. You see a position for five seconds, then one piece disappears. Can you say what it was?
Two rounds. The first uses a real game position; the second uses exactly the same pieces scattered at random. Notice which one feels easier.
Round 1: a position from a real game
A normal Queen’s Gambit Declined after 10 moves each.
Which piece was on the framed square (f3)?
Round 2: the same pieces, placed at random
Exactly the same 30 pieces, scattered by a random shuffle.
Which piece was on the framed square (c6)?
In the original experiments, Chase and Simon (1973) showed positions for five seconds to players of different strengths. The master recalled far more of a real game position than the beginner, but with pieces placed at random the master’s advantage almost disappeared. Later studies found experts keep a small edge even with random positions (Gobet & Simon, 1996).
The lesson is the key to the whole “chess makes you smarter” question: expert players do not have a generally better memory. They have a better chess memory, built from thousands of familiar patterns. Whether you found round 2 harder probably depends on how much chess you have played.
Round 1 is a real Queen’s Gambit Declined position, played out move by move with chess.js 1.4.0. Round 2 uses the same 30 pieces placed by a seeded random shuffle (pawns kept off the first and last rows).
What does chess actually do to your brain?
When you play a lot of chess, you get better at the things chess demands:
- Pattern recognition. Experts recognise familiar groups of pieces (“chunks”) at a glance. The classic estimate is that a master knows around 50,000 of them; see is chess hard to learn? for more on this.
- Calculation. Practice makes it easier to hold a few moves in your head and check them.
- Focus. A long game demands sustained attention, and players get used to concentrating for hours.
- Handling pressure. Making decisions against a clock, with a real opponent, is a skill in itself; see time controls.
All of these are real improvements, but they are measured inside chess. The open question is whether they carry over to school, work or everyday thinking, and that is where the evidence gets thin.
Is chess good for children’s learning?
This is the most studied question. In 2016, Giovanni Sala and Fernand Gobet pooled 24 studies involving 2,788 children who took chess lessons and 2,433 in comparison groups (Educational Research Review, 2016). They found:
| Outcome | Effect size (g) | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Maths | 0.38 | Small to moderate improvement |
| General cognitive ability | 0.33 | Small to moderate |
| Reading | 0.25 | Small |
| All outcomes | 0.34 | Moderate at best |
| Programmes over 25 hours | 0.43 | Longer programmes did better |
Figures as reported by the authors (summary on ChessBase). An effect size of 0.4 is about the median for educational interventions.
Two cautions. First, the median effect of educational interventions in general is about 0.40, so chess is roughly an average school intervention, not an exceptional one; the authors point out that more than half of studied interventions do better. Second, almost none of the studies compared chess with another engaging activity, so some of the effect could come from novelty, extra attention or simply enjoying lessons (Sala, Foley & Gobet, 2017).
The more rigorous tests have been less encouraging. A large randomised trial in England, run for the Education Endowment Foundation, assigned 100 primary schools at random; pupils in half of them were offered about 30 hours of chess lessons. A year later there was no measurable difference in maths, reading or science results (Jerrim and colleagues, 2016; trial registration). Two experiments that compared chess with another activity also found no benefit for maths problem-solving (Sala & Gobet, Learning & Behavior, 2017).
So chess is a perfectly good school activity, but the claim that it boosts grades is not proven. Teach it because children enjoy it. Teaching tips: how to teach kids chess.
Does chess increase IQ?
There is no good evidence that it does. In a 2017 paper, Sala and Gobet looked at chess, music lessons and working-memory training together. All three showed small-to-moderate effects on children’s cognitive and academic skills, but the effects got smaller as the study designs got better, especially when the comparison group did another stimulating activity. Their conclusion was that far transfer rarely occurs (Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2017).
It is true that strong chess players tend to score above average on intelligence tests. But that runs both ways: people who are good at this kind of thinking are more likely to enjoy chess and keep at it. Research on how players get good also finds that practice explains only part of the difference between them (Hambrick et al., 2014), which fits the idea that ability and chess skill feed each other rather than chess simply creating intelligence.
Can chess help prevent dementia?
Several long-term studies link board games to healthier brains in older age:
- Verghese et al. (2003) followed older adults in the Bronx and found that reading, playing board games, playing musical instruments and dancing were each associated with a lower risk of dementia (New England Journal of Medicine). The authors stressed that controlled trials were needed to test whether these activities actually protect against it.
- Altschul and Deary (2020) studied 1,091 people born in 1936 who had sat an intelligence test at age 11. Those who played more games, such as cards, chess, bingo or crosswords, in their 70s showed less cognitive decline between 70 and 79, even after accounting for their childhood ability (Journals of Gerontology).
- A 2023 systematic review concluded that traditional board games may slow overall cognitive decline and improve quality of life in older people (Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease).
These findings are encouraging but they are associations. People who stay mentally and socially active may also be healthier in other ways, and early, undetected decline can make people stop playing. None of these studies shows that taking up chess will prevent dementia. The researchers themselves note that other factors, such as physical fitness and not smoking, also matter.
Reasonable reading: chess is a good way to stay mentally and socially active in later life, alongside the things with stronger evidence, like exercise. It is not a treatment.
Common claims about chess and the brain, checked
- Well supported
Playing chess makes you better at chess
Strong players remember real game positions far better than beginners, but lose most of that advantage with random positions: their skill is built from chess-specific patterns.
- Not proven
Chess lessons improve children’s maths
A meta-analysis of 24 studies found a small-to-moderate effect (g = 0.38), but the strictest tests, a 100-school randomised trial in England and two experiments with an active control group, found no measurable benefit.
- Some evidence
Older adults who play games show less mental decline
In a group born in 1936 and followed into their late 70s, people who played more games (cards, chess, bingo, crosswords) showed less cognitive decline. This is an association, not proof that the games caused it.
- Not proven
Chess raises your IQ
Effects on general cognitive ability shrink as study designs get stricter; reviewers conclude that this kind of “far transfer” from a game to general intelligence rarely happens.
- Not proven
Chess improves reading
The same meta-analysis found a smaller effect on reading (g = 0.25) than on maths, with the same design weaknesses.
- Not proven
Chess prevents dementia or Alzheimer’s
Observational studies link board games with lower dementia risk, and a 2023 review says traditional board games may slow decline. None proves chess prevents dementia; the NEJM authors themselves called for controlled trials.
- Not proven
Chess players are smart because of chess
Strong players do tend to score above average on intelligence tests, but that does not show chess caused it: people who are good at this kind of thinking may simply be drawn to the game and stick with it.
- Myth
Chess burns as many calories as sport
It burns about 1.5 times resting energy. The famous “6,000 calories a day” figure has no measurement behind it.
The real benefits of chess
Strip away the inflated claims and chess still has plenty going for it:
- It is a deep, lifelong skill. You can keep improving for decades; see how to get better at chess.
- It is social. Clubs, tournaments and online games connect people across ages and countries.
- It trains focus within the game, and learning to sit with a hard problem is a useful habit, even if the evidence for transfer is weak.
- It is accessible. It is cheap, works anywhere, and older adults and children can play on equal terms.
- It is fun. That may be the best reason of all, and the one with no research needed.
One honest caveat: chess is not exercise. It burns barely more energy than sitting still (see our calorie fact check), so pair it with something that gets you moving.
FAQ
Does chess make you smarter?
It makes you better at chess, and lessons may give children a small boost in maths. But the best studies find little evidence that chess raises general intelligence: skills learned in chess rarely transfer to unrelated tasks.
Is chess good for your brain?
Chess is a demanding mental activity, and staying mentally active is associated with healthier ageing. The evidence that chess specifically protects or improves the brain is still weak, so enjoy it for its own sake rather than as a medical treatment.
Does chess increase IQ?
There is no good evidence that it does. Effects on general cognitive ability get smaller as studies get more rigorous, and researchers who reviewed the evidence concluded that this kind of transfer rarely occurs.
What does chess do to your brain?
Practice builds a large memory of chess patterns, which lets strong players recognise good moves quickly. Brain-imaging studies show differences between experts and beginners, but those mostly reflect chess expertise rather than general improvements.
Can chess prevent Alzheimer’s or dementia?
Not proven. People who play board games are less likely to develop dementia in some long-term studies, but that link may be partly because healthier, more active people play more games. Controlled trials are still needed.
Is chess good for kids?
Yes, as an enjoyable, social activity that teaches patience and concentration within the game. Older studies suggest a small benefit to maths, but a large randomised trial and experiments with proper comparison groups found none, so teach it for enjoyment rather than grades.
Is chess good for older adults?
It is a good way to stay mentally and socially active, which is associated with slower cognitive decline. Combine it with physical activity, which has strong evidence for brain health.
Does chess improve memory?
It improves memory for chess positions a great deal. Whether it improves memory for other things is not well supported.
This page summarises research for general interest. It is not medical advice; if you are worried about memory or thinking problems, talk to a doctor.
Sources and how we checked
- G. Sala & F. Gobet, “Do the benefits of chess instruction transfer to academic and cognitive skills? A meta-analysis”, Educational Research Review 18 (2016); authors’ summary on ChessBase.
- G. Sala & F. Gobet, “Does far transfer exist? Negative evidence from chess, music, and working memory training”, Current Directions in Psychological Science 26 (2017).
- G. Sala, J. Foley & F. Gobet, “The effects of chess instruction on pupils’ cognitive and academic skills”, Frontiers in Psychology (2017).
- J. Jerrim et al., Chess in Schools: Evaluation report, Education Endowment Foundation (2016), ISRCTN33648117; G. Sala & F. Gobet, “Does chess instruction improve mathematical problem-solving ability? Two experimental studies with an active control group”, Learning & Behavior 45 (2017).
- J. Verghese et al., “Leisure activities and the risk of dementia in the elderly”, New England Journal of Medicine 348 (2003).
- D. Altschul & I. Deary, “Playing analog games is associated with reduced declines in cognitive function: a 68-year longitudinal cohort study”, Journals of Gerontology: Series B 75 (2020).
- Systematic review on traditional board games and dementia, Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (2023).
- W. Chase & H. Simon, “Perception in chess” (1973); F. Gobet & H. Simon, “Recall of random and distorted chess positions” (1996); D. Hambrick et al., “Deliberate practice: Is that all it takes to become an expert?” (2014).
- The memory-test positions were generated in code: the game position with chess.js 1.4.0, the random position with a seeded shuffle of the same pieces, checked to contain an identical set of pieces.