I’m a horrible chess player.  I get tense like the outcome of WWIII is riding on the game.  I am so afraid that I’ll make a mistake that I make not what you would call a mistake but a blunder.  With 10 good moves on the board, I’ll make the one that will checkmate me in one.  I wish I were better because if I were better I’d play more.  There’s that whole thing of chess and intelligence that makes you fearful you’ll demonstrate how little you have so a loss is more painful than it should be.  This feeling that I’m failing an IQ test when I lose a game of chess extends to games in which I am playing the engine in a chess app.  It doesn’t go away even when I am playing a machine in a game nobody knows I’m  playing but me.  My thing now is logic puzzles – ironically they hone the same skills.

But here’s the thing about chess.  It teaches you to recognize patterns, solve problems and to think strategically.  It forces you to think ahead. You must not only anticipate your opponents moves but create scenarios in your mind for each possibility.  In other words it teaches planning and foresight.   It also teaches patience, sharpens memory and improves focus.

What do video games teach?  They improve coordination and improves reflexes.  Since each game creates it’s own world, they stretch your imagination.  Some increase creativity.    But the most popular games today desensitizes the player to violence, instill dubious morals, and are addictive with negative consequences that extend life  beyond the console.

I do not see chess and  video games (there are chess video games) as binary.  This is not a choice between one or the other.  I do think that children would benefit from playing less video games and playing more chess virtual or real.