IQ of chess players

I wonder - perhaps IQ is related to interest in chess but not to chess ability?

I think there is A link between IQ and chess as generaly if you are cleverer you should be able to see more moves ahead and be able to calculate moves and things allot earlier on thus putting you at a better advantage. So the better you are at chess the probability of your IQ being high is greater.

I think that developing an understanding of chess has to increase problem solving skills just like mastering a rubix cube does.  I think memorizing openings and combinations helps develop memory.  I have a terrible memory in fact I don't memorize much of anything when it comes to chess intentionally.  I find that I memorize these things unintentionally.  It's something I'm not good at but with practice I become much better....  I think that I would do better on an IQ test now than 6 months ago when I hadn't played chess in years.  Does that mean I'm smarter?  Probably not...  In a way I think it means I'm "rehearsed."  I'm realizing my potential if you will...  I'm sure in children, when their brains are not finished developing, it can have positive long term affects on problem solving and consequently on intelligence.  Not to mention the positive affects of competitive experience and social experience that goes along with chess.  These are also important to development in children.  The real question is whether or not chess is better than any other activity.  I would say if your child enjoys it it's better if not then it's not.  I'm no expert....

Anthony

i think there is definitely a connection between EGO and IQ , not so sure about chess

Thanks for all your comments.

Reading all the posts by you guys.. it's obvious chess indeed does sharpen one's mind, and helps development mentally and socially especially in children that is if they enjoy it.  

Wonder what would it be like if you force upon the children, just like asian moms forcing their children to study and better results at school. (like mine, for eg.) :P

All competitive activities have an intellectual aspect it's got to be better to find something they like and encouraging them to see it intellectually as well as socially and physically.  Like american football all those Xs and Os are very complex and chesslike in a way.  Maybe your kid is more interested in football than chess.  Better to encourage development in an area they already have interest than to nuture resentment for making them do something they don't like.  Music is the same playing piano or any instrument is just as much a puzzle as chess is.

Anthony

chesshole, I pointed to an obvious logical mistake in your thread. You did not answer. (see my answer #43).

If you want to be taken serious, you must answer!

Mandelshtam, calm down.

You'll recall that you didn't answer any of my comments in our games.

you didn't ask. Now you did. probably you were right with your comments.

Yeah I guess now is too late, I'm just saying you shouldn't be so in-your-face in the forums, right?

It might help a little but the only connection I can make between chess and intelligence is that it's just a game that intelligent people tend to like since the game is so deep.

i could only imagine a GM with an IQ below 100..... that would be so embarssing lol!

"well i can tell you precisely that my iq is 148 (measured by mensa when they invited me to join some 30 years ago) puts me in the top 2% of the country. (mensa's figures not mine); so if iq and chess skill were connected i should be a gm - i am not!!! "

An IQ of 148 puts you in the top 2% of the total population; an elo-rating of 1600 or higher puts you in the lower echelons of organised chessplayers, but in the top 1% of the total population of your country; so you are a better chess player than a thinker :-). Your statement above indicates the same :-)

What is an IQ of an average chess player??

Higher than average.

Does playing chess help the development of children's brain?

Yes.

And does playing chess improves one's problem solving skills in everyday's life?

To a small extend; it teaches one to think more methodically; proven by research.

If so, share your example.  ;)

Results of schoolchildren being taught chess improve, research says.

What is the cause and effect of the statement "chess players tend to have a higher than average IQ"?

My theory: People with a higher than average IQ tend to start playing chess much more often.

Also: Everybody knows that if you put a lot of time into studying chess then you will get better. (Of course at some point you level off.) I have to think though, that the higher your IQ the higher your leveling-off point will be, when you accumulate a large sample size.

Yeah I agree with ozzie on that but you need to embrace something like chess to reach those high plateaus and in reality lots of high IQ individuals (in my experience) are really lazy. in fact the three most gifted people I knew in highschool all but dropped out. Some due to drug use.  Their not reaching their potential in much of anything last time I spoke with any of them.   I don't think any of the kids in my chess club went to college... 

At some point this whole conversation has to become rather philosophical.  We have to really analyze 1) What IQ really measures, 2) How it is and is not related to intelligence, 3) Why it's a desirable thing to nurture in children,  4) Whether or not it actually has a positive impact in the long term of an individual, 5) Whether or not there is a price to pay for this higher IQ/intelligence (be it social or psychological), 6) Whether or not any of the questions can actually be answered before the child has already been corrupted by television, friends, and life in general. 

I think a lot of people place more signifigance on intelect than on life skills.  In my experience intelligence only gets you somewhere if you apply it to marketable skills.  Most of the truly successful people I know aren't that brilliant.  They're just tenacious and willing to lie, cheat, and steal.  The only thing intelligence has given me (assuming that I'm as smart as I think I am) is the arrogance to post stupid thoughts like this one.  I guess it also helps me be better at chess and quicker at the math portion of my job.  But I know a lot of folks who aren't nearly as intelligent as I am who do my job just as well as I do.  So in the long run I think IQ is just there to feed the ego.  However, I'm no expert and my opinion should be ignored.

Anthony

no matter what group of people you ask, their IQs are invariably 120-160. I find it amusing, and quite descriptive for the whole IQ racket. it's about vanity, perceived social status, and tells a lot more about the testers than the tested.

I hav very low iq probly 70 and I play poor chess

70?? surely not... 

Most threads here show that there is a general belief that IQ is related to intelligence. There are, however, serious doubts among scientists about that.

vermeer1 wrote:

I hav very low iq probly 70 and I play poor chess

 Poor lad, couldn't even find the caps lock to type iq. What this? Ahh, I never realised it was contagious. Don't touch Vermeer1's posts!!

:)