Chess is highly beneficial for the brain, enhancing cognitive functions like memory, pattern recognition, spatial awareness, and strategic planning. It promotes neuroplasticity, potentially slowing dementia, and improves focus, patience, and problem-solving skills. While not a direct IQ booster, it serves as a rigorous mental workout.
Enhanced Cognitive abilities: Chess coaching classes teach strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making, all of which are cognitive abilities linked to higher IQ. Students may enhance their cognitive abilities by exercising these skills in the setting of chess, which will result in higher IQ results.
Albert Einstein, the greatest genius, also held little regard for chess. His alleged assertion, "An hour spent on chess is an hour robbed from the universe's grand equation," speaks volumes about the game's true value.
Elon Musk famously tweeted that chess is a "simple game," understandable when people only had rocks and squirrels, but now with computers, it's a solved problem, leading him to prefer games like Polytopia with more variables like tech trees and fog of war, viewing chess as too basic for real-life strategy due to its fixed board and identical pieces.
Since Islam explicitly forbids gambling, any activity associated with it, directly or indirectly, is also haram. Although chess today is largely free from this association, some scholars still emphasize the potential risk of its link to gambling.
Tactics is also 100% problem-solving. As shown in the list above, 9 out of 10 intelligence characteristics are crucial for the game of chess. From that, we can conclude that to be a strong chess player, one needs to possess a higher-than-average level of intelligence.
The rule is simple: If something takes less than 5 minutes, do it immediately. No excuses. But here's how Musk takes it further he breaks big tasks into 5-minute chunks.
Albert Einstein was a good friend of World Chess Champion Emanuel Lasker. In an interview with the New York Times in 1936 Albert said, “I do not play any games. There is no time for it. When I get through work I don't want anything which requires the working of the mind.” He did take up Chess in his later life.
Mohammad on Playing Chess: "Buraida reported on the authority of his father that Allah's Apostle said: He who played chess is like one who dyed his hand with the flesh and blood of swine." Sahih Islam, Book 028, Number 5612.
He spent most of his childhood playing chess against old men in the park, one ever winning one game, which he later found out the old man let him win. His favorite chess piece was the rook because he liked the idea of moving in straight lines.
Throughout his life Napoleon had a deep love for chess, but was not a player of the first rank. He did not have time to study the game in depth; he opened poorly; he gave many signs of impatience if his opponent took too long over a move. However, he would sometimes liven up and play fine moves.
The present review of the literature showed that chess has positive effects on ADHD symptoms and their severity. In addition to its efficacy in ADHD, the advantages of chess therapy include high adherence, low cost, and no side effects.
If we had to pick a single number to answer the question, “At what age should my child learn chess?”, the consensus would be about seven. But if your child likes games and you think they can learn chess, it is okay to start earlier, between 4 and 6. Someone this age might struggle to reach any chess goals.
Elon Musk has publicly stated he has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which he revealed during his 2021 hosting gig on Saturday Night Live, noting it helps with his intense focus on programming and work. While some speculate about other conditions like PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) due to childhood experiences, the widely acknowledged diagnosis he self-identified with is Asperger's.
The Five-Minute Rule is Musk's ultra-detailed time management system where every single five-minute interval is accounted for. While most people schedule by the hour or half-hour, Musk takes a more granular approach—breaking down his workday into 5-minute slots.
Musk told The Wall Street Journal in 2023 that he usually goes to bed around 3 a.m. and sleeps for six hours. So, he's typically waking up around 9 a.m. each day.
The world's No. 1 chess player is Magnus Carlsen, the Norwegian Grandmaster, who consistently leads the FIDE rankings with a rating around 2840, followed by GM Hikaru Nakamura (USA) and GM Fabiano Caruana (USA) as of early 2026, with Carlsen holding the record for the highest peak rating ever and longest #1 reign.
It is the only square that is not defended by any of the minor or major pieces and it is a pivotal square that protects the black king. For this reason, many traps are formed to attack this square and why black should always be looking out for any attacks on the square.
