Chess is often thought of as a cerebral game for intellectuals, but new research has shown that you don’t need to be a genius to start playing chess. In fact, just the act of regularly playing chess can actually make you smarter! So, it’s possible that high level chess players didn’t start out as intelligent as they are today, but it was actually the practice of playing chess regularly that helped them increase their IQs, among other things. There are actually several different types of mental benefits that come from playing chess, so if you want to improve overall cognitive function, it’s time that we all break out our chess sets!

Source:

https://www.chess-site.com/articles/chess-mental-benefits/