Introduction
It’s well known that many intelligent people gravitate towards chess along with those in search of a method to help sharpen their intellectual faculties. Chess has many benefits that can help with the accomplishment of becoming intelligent. Chess is great for developing strategy, long term thinking and overall decision making in a variety of fields outside of chess. Although chess is an excellent tool for the job of developing ones intellect it is by no means the only way to develop intellect and in fact in most instances having a high IQ can have little to no correlation to your ability to play chess.
The ability to play chess well like most other skill sets must be practiced in order to produce any significant progress. Having a high level of intelligence when initially learning chess can be beneficial but chess in itself can be a great aid in increasing your intelligence and within the process of learning how to play chess the learners intelligence will see significant improvement.
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Do All Intelligent People Play Chess?
Although a large proportion of intelligent people may gravitate towards chess there are also many intelligent people that dislike certain aspects of chess. For example it’s been reported that Albert Einstein disliked the competitive nature of chess and even though he could play quite well he considered chess a waste of time and rarely played chess.
Having a high level of intelligence may be an indicator that an individual may play chess but there are also scenarios where ones morals and principles may conflict with the requirements of the game like in the case of Albert Einstein. There are many different types of intelligence and the type of intelligence that would best define the individual will play a major role in the types of interests and hobbies they gravitate towards. Chess players are most likely to excel in the tasks that require strategy and abstract thinking the same skills needed to excel in chess. Intelligence in the areas of strategy and abstract thinking can be associated with the traits of a great chess player. However because intelligence encompasses much more than just the ability to utilise strategy and abstract thinking there are also those that may have greater skill in areas such as interpersonal or intrapersonal intelligence for instance that whilst being intelligent may dislike chess and so not play chess.
As chess is a game that resembles warfare it has been mostly played by individuals in history with a proximity to war such as Kings and queens and individuals in the military. It’s not a surprise then that some of the first individuals to play chess in each of the countries around the world chess has been introduced to were the members of the royal household and the military that served them who were also amongst the most intelligent people in their respective lands. The proximity chess had to such high ranking members of society lead to chess being synonymous with royalty and intelligence.
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Is Every Intelligent Person Good At Chess?
Most great chess players have a high level of intelligence however like any skill the absence of time and dedicated effort directed towards improvement will be a deciding factor on ones overall ability to play chess well. The ability to play chess well and the willingness to improve in chess in most cases depends on the type of intelligence that an individual has the greatest affinity towards.
There are many different types of intelligence and in general playing chess well depends on the type of intelligence that best describes the person. Chess like any skill can be learned by anyone that dedicates a sufficient amount of time and effort. Intelligence can have great impact on one’s ability to initially learn how to play chess however it is by no means an indicator of a great chess player. There are individuals with superior levels of intellect in terms of IQ that would find difficulty in defeating some of the champions in chess that have lower IQ’s in comparison.
For instance Albert Einstein had an average IQ of around 160-170 and is considered one of the brightest individuals in modern history but had an estimated Elo rating in chess of around 1500. In comparison Gary Kasparov a well known grandmaster in chess has an IQ of around 135 but has achieved a considerably higher Elo rating in chess of 2851. Clearly from this example it can be ascertained that there is little correlation between intelligence and being inherently good at chess. Every intelligent person may possess an inherent ability to achieve mastery in chess given the adequate amount of practice however having a high level of intelligence is not an indication that an individual will be good at chess from the outset.
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What Personality Type Do Most Chess Players Fit?
Chess players in general are considered to fall under either the category of INTP or INTJ in terms of their personality types. Both personality types possess many of the characteristics that some of the greats in chess exhibit. Individuals with an INTP personality type are considered to be much more logical and calculated whereas individuals with an INTJ personality type are known to be much more creative and imaginative.
Chess players can be found to possess more than one personality type at a time. There are a range of different personality types and depending on your perspective on everyday events and your general outlook on life a personality type can be assigned to you. The accuracy of these tests may fluctuate with the changes that may take place in an individuals life and so the personality type of the average individual usually falls within two categories and can change slightly over time. The two main personality types are INTP and INTJ. Individuals who are deemed to demonstrate the characteristics of an INTP (introverted, intuitive, thinking and perceiving) are perceived as logical in their approach with an excellent ability to spot patterns whereas individuals who fall under the category of INTJ ( introverted, intuitive, thinking and judging) possess many of the qualities of their INTP counterparts as can be seen from the naming itself however the key differentiator between the two personality types is that INTJ’s are much more imaginative and decisive.
| Chess Player | Personality type |
| Hikaru Nakamura | ENTP/ISTP-A |
| Magnus Carlsen | ISTP |
| Fabiano Caruana | INTJ/INTP |
| Ian Nepomniachtchi | ISTP/ENTP |
| Ding Liren | INTP/INFP |
| Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | INTJ/INTP |
| Alexander Grischuk | INTP/ISTP |
As shown in the table above a small sample of some of the most famous grandmasters in chess belong to various personality types. However the most frequent personality type according to the results from the table shows that the majority of chess players can be classified as INTP. INTP’s are known to be much more logical and calculated than most other personality types which can be beneficial when playing an opponent in chess. It’s not surprising that a large proportion of the best chess players fall under the classification of INTP as one of the defining traits of a great chess players is the ability to think many moves ahead which many INTP personality types may be able to do with ease.
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Conclusion
Overall chess players are intelligent as the game of chess is a great tool for developing intellect. Playing chess consistently over large periods of time will have long lasting effects on an individuals intellectual development and capacity to learn. Many of the greats in chess have been playing chess since their youth and continue to play chess until the present day. The knowledge and experience gained over years of playing chess can impact an individuals intelligence in positive ways and in fact many chess players that are considered to be grandmasters do in fact have very high IQ’s.
The average grandmaster has an IQ of around 180 and an individual with an average IQ is can be expected to attain an Elo rating of at least a 2000. There is a correlation between becoming a great chess player and maintaining a high IQ and because of this chess players are considered to be very intelligent especially in areas such as strategic thinking, abstract thinking, pattern recognition and long term planning along with many of the areas of intellect associated with the previously mentioned personality types.
