Chess is having a moment. It is a game that has always been admired but recently its popularity has skyrocketed. A new compelling Netflix show about chess, The Queen’s Gambit, has focused a lot of attention on this classic contest. Plus, everyone is stuck inside more than usual and looking for entertaining activities that take up time. Enter chess.

Chess has always been thought of as the thinking person’s game but it is more than that. The mind is like a muscle. The more you use it the stronger it gets. Chess is an intense competition that requires continual use of certain mental faculties. As a result, those parts of the brain become well-conditioned. Here are some areas of our mental functioning that may be enhanced by playing chess:

Taking Another Perspective

Good chess players have the ability to anticipate their opponent’s moves. They are able to see what their adversary is doing before they do it. I’m not sure how they do it but an expert player can somehow get inside the mind of another individual. Being able to take the view of another person is key for organization and planning abilities. What’s more, developing empathy is a critical emotional skill dependent on taking another perspective.

Memory

Short-term memory is required to play chess. You need to explore many possible combinations and keep them in your mind long enough to settle on a strategy. It is probably accurate to say that if you have poor short-term memory you will never be a grandmaster.

You almost need an imaginary photographic memory to be good at chess. What I mean by that is that you imagine pieces where they are going to be rather than where they actually are in the present. You have to remember moves that are about to happen rather than memorize what has already occurred. A person that can visualize and remember those hypothetical moves has a serious advantage.

Cognitive Improvement

Does chess make you smarter? The evidence is mixed but there are many components of chess that are involved in IQ. Memory, processing speed, fluid reasoning, and visual-spatial abilities are necessary to be successful at chess and they are all critical aspects of intelligence. In fact, those are four of the five factors that are specifically measured on IQ tests.

It may be hard to definitively determine whether chess makes you smarter but good players are likely to do very well on those parts of the IQ test. Like so many questions in psychology, there is a chicken and egg problem. There is an association between chess and IQ but does it help improve intelligence or is it just the other way around? The jury is still out.

Concentration (and Patience)

If you have ever played chess, you know how mentally exhausting it can be. Contests often take considerable time and thought. Successful players need to be able to focus over hours without losing their cool. It would make sense that so much practice in concentrating would yield an increase in the ability to focus. Research appears to support this assertion. People with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder have shown improvement in concentration following months of consistent play.

Problem-Solving Skills

Chess is fun but it is also a problem. If truth be told, every move is a new complication that needs to be solved. It takes a certain amount of flexibility and nimbleness of thought (i.e., abstract reasoning) to figure out situations that are continuously changing. You must come up with an overall strategy and then make adjustments on-the-fly throughout the match. You may not face rooks and bishops in your real life but what you learn about the process of problem solving will serve you well in tackling life’s difficulties.

Chess and Creative Thinking

You probably don’t think of chess and creativity in the same breath. After all, it does not require particular skill in art, music, or writing. But players need to be creative in how they approach the game if they are to become good competitors. Many participants have memorized certain strategies and rules but the top players use creative solutions to keep their opponents off guard. Indeed, chess seems to foster creative thinking in early childhood. It teaches that creativity is necessary for success.

Chess as Play Therapy?

You may find this surprising, but therapists often bring out a chess board as part of psychotherapy. You may be asking, “what does a game have to do with therapy?” First, sometimes a game acts as a distraction that allows a person to open up. Because they are so focused on the contest, they are not as self-conscious about what they are saying. Chess, in particular, is good at this because it requires so much concentration.

Chess is also a good way to see how a person responds to stress. Numerous challenges arise during the course of a match and it is informative for the therapist to see how the client reacts. Further, it is a very involved game that elects a certain amount of passion. When you aren’t doing well—or have lost—it reveals how you cope with disappointment. For the therapist, it is both an assessment tool and a way to help the client learn to deal with challenging situations.

The Teachings of Chess

When we think of games we think of fun. Not many people feel like they have experienced personal growth after two hours of playing Call of Duty or Monopoly. So imagine if you could engage in self-improvement as you play a game. Although the research is not uniformly consistent, there are indications that chess can improve cognitive function and aid in areas that help people cope better with their lives. The best news: chess is fun and you don’t have to feel guilty for playing. The only downside? You may become obsessed.