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Chess Prowess = Superior Intellect?

Godlovesmetwo

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I am a hopeless player due to lack of patience and concentration. But I respect the intelligence to plan and envisage moves 2 and more steps ahead. Lots of left brain? Dunno. Better for you than a lot of current video games IMO.
 
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DaisyDay

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There are many aspects to intellect. Proficient chess players certainly have some, but may be fools in other areas in their lives.
 
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Radrook

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There are many aspects to intellect. Proficient chess players certainly have some, but may be fools in other areas in their lives.

But I think that the most poignant example is Bobby Fisher and his insane antics after he became world champion.



 
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LoveDivine

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I think that chess like other strategy games requires the ability to recognize patterns and outcomes. I haven't played chess regularly the past few years, but there was a time that I played it almost every day. The more you play, the better you get at spotting specific set ups and strategies. For those who play at the very elite level, they can think more than just a few moves ahead. Once I was in a mall, and I watched a chess master play 15 other players at once. It was incredible to watch. After each player lost, he'd recreate the moment on the chess board that they had made their fatal move and offer instruction. In some cases, he had to go back about 10-15 moves to show the mistake.

To answer your original question, I think that proficiency in chess requires a strong analytical ability and a good memory. I wouldn't say that good chess players are more intelligent than others, but I would say that they are very analytical
 
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Soyeong

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This seems to be a very popular viewpoint concerning chess players who are proficient.
What is your viewpoint on this assumption?

It doesn't matter whether someone is a doctor, an engineer, or a musician, it takes a higher level of intellect to be at the top of your field, which can, but does not necessarily translate to other areas. It certainly takes a higher level of intellect to be able to analyze and plan several moves in advance, but chess players are not the only ones who benefit from having that ability. There is also an interesting aspect of chess of retrograde analysis of being able to deduce what happened in the past. For example, can you prove which square white's queen what captured on, whether white can castle, what black's last move was, or whether there is a promoted piece on the board? I recommend The Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Raymond M. Smullyan. See also:

Retrograde analysis - Wikipedia
 
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TurtleAnne

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My brother and I are fond of strategy games, including chess. Our personalities, and strengths and weaknesses, complement each other in many ways. One of those ways comes out quite a bit when we're competing in strategy games. He is very skilled at coming up with elaborate, carefully-crafted, long-term strategies, while I seem to be much better at fast adaptation and thinking under pressure in general. Our matches in various games are just about 50/50 as far as victories. It carries over into other areas of our lives, as well. My brother is the only person I trust to give me long-term and sensible life advice, and I have been there for him and others several times when he/they have encountered unexpected crisis or turmoil in his/their own life. I consider him to be neither more nor less intelligent than myself. Again I think we complement each other. This is probably the foundation upon which I came to perceive humanity in general, including my perceptions of intelligence.
 
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Strathos

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Considering how good at chess I am (not to brag or anything), I'd like to believe that is true.

However, I know that would be a logical fallacy and motivated reasoning.

Then again, perhaps because I realize that and don't jump to the obvious conclusion, it means I do have a superior intellect after all... ^_^
 
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