FT article: Games we play as children echo through our adult lives

 

The Chess Players by  Antti Favén

The Financial Times recently referenced chess again, in the article "Games we play as children echo through our adult lives". While the role and function of chess is often misunderstood or misrepresented in popular culture, I think the author Enuma Okoro got it right in how she shared her experience:

My father was an avid chess player and when I was eight years old, he began teaching me the game. I remember how seriously he took this task. He wanted me to understand that this wasn’t just for fun but that it could also teach me to pay attention, to stop and think before making a move, and even at such a young age to begin to learn what it meant to strategise. We would often leave our matches unfinished, if necessary, until the next opportunity to continue. He taught my older siblings the game too, and when I played with them I discovered that part of the skill was understanding your opponent.

Some of the most important lessons were about the value of taking turns, of recognising that certain rules exist to ensure that everyone can engage fairly and with equal chance of success. A game like chess is also a reminder that when we relate with others, whether it’s a friendly interaction or a more loaded exchange, something is always at stake. And that we each have to determine how we value what’s at stake and what we’re willing to do to secure or protect it. Pausing, observing, trying to understand whoever is in front of you, knowing how to sit with tension until you determine the next best move are all lessons that can translate from the board to real life.

Annotated Game #339: How about that a-file

This final-round tournament game followed a common trajectory in the Colle, as I managed to seize on an inaccuracy in an otherwise equal position to put a lot of pressure on Black. I completely miss a Nxf7 sac possibility, pointed out by the engine, but establish a second-best winning positional advantage. Unfortunately I misplay things on the open a-file, giving Black perhaps even a small advantage. After that, a somewhat over-optimistic last shot at active play peters out into a legitimate draw. I was nonetheless pleased with the overall level of play and the result against a higher-rated player, capping a positive tournament result for the first time in a while.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class B"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D05"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "2268222679466048"] {[%evp 0,69,10,38,17,23,32,5,14,9,8,0,9,7,16,4,21,26,10,11,18,7,13,-1,-18,0,17,46,51,23,54,-16,3,117,42,186,41,5,172,124,195,84,153,25,86,182,212,196,12,78,71,7,-88,0,9,-63,-73,-70,4,-27,-30,-82,-64,87,-1,-28,54,-1,1,-26,-1,-51]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. e3 {a safe choice.} (3. d5 {is the more principled reply, taking advantage of Black's pawn advance, and scores much better in the database than any other move.}) 3... e6 4. Bd3 d5 {now we are back in the main line Colle, via transposition.} 5. b3 Nbd7 6. Bb2 a6 {this seems like one pawn move too many, as development is not advanced enough for Black.} 7. a4 $14 {prophylaxis, aimed at contesting any b-pawn advance.} g6 {this is inconsistent with the earlier e7-e6 advance, since the bishop does not need an extra tempo to develop. That said, if Black is more comfortable playing the position with a fianchettoed bishop, then it is not necessarily a bad choice.} 8. Nbd2 Bg7 9. O-O b6 {The light-square bishop needs to be developed somehow.} 10. Ne5 {not the only good choice of strategy here.} (10. a5 {looks to disrupt Black's queenside. Accepting the pawn leads to trouble after} bxa5 11. Ra2 {followed by Qa1 with pressure against Black's fractured structure.}) (10. e4 $5 {would be the classic Colle pawn lever}) 10... Qc7 11. f4 {now we have the classic Stonewall/Colle attack structure.} O-O 12. c3 {this commits fully to a Stonewall structure, which is safer but less dynamic. Developing the queen would be more flexible.} (12. Qe2) (12. Qe1) 12... Rb8 {removing a defender of the a6 pawn, making it easy to choose my next move.} 13. Qe2 {creating the Q+B battery and connecting the rooks.} Qb7 {it's common to try and justify one's previous less-than-optimal move, which my opponent does here by misplacing her queen to protect the a-pawn.} (13... Ra8 {simply returning the rook to its original square is a bit galling, but best.}) 14. Ndf3 {I thought for a while here. This is not bad, but does not press White's small advantage.} (14. g4 {would start up the standard Stonewall attack on the kingside, targeting the Nf6. I rejected it at the time, thinking it would be too stereotypical.}) (14. Ba3 $5 {would get the bishop off the b-file, where it could be a target, and on to a much more useful diagonal.}) 14... b5 15. Rfb1 {protecting the Bb2 again and opposing the rook to Black's queen.} c4 {Black now seizes some space while keeping the queenside structure intact, thereby equalizing.} 16. bxc4 dxc4 17. Bc2 $11 Nd5 {this was unexpected, for whatever reason, but both looks good and is good.} 18. Qd2 {overprotecting c3.} Qc7 $2 {a good idea to place the queen here, but executed prematurely.} (18... Nxe5 19. Nxe5 f6 20. Nf3 Qc7 $11 {here the e3-e4 pawn lever is not available, as the f4 pawn would hang.}) 19. e4 $1 {this was easy to find, since it seizes space with tempo.} N5f6 20. Ba3 $18 {I felt this resulted in a decisive advantage, which the engine verifies.} Rd8 21. axb5 (21. Nxf7 $1 {is even better, but this sacrifice was not even on my radar.} Kxf7 22. Ng5+ Kg8 23. Nxe6 Qb6 24. Nxd8 Qxd8 25. e5 $18) 21... axb5 22. Bb4 {positionally Black is lost on the queenside, without control of the a-file and with the backwards b-pawn a liability.} Qb7 23. Qe1 {a "small" move, but best. The idea is to redeploy the queen to the kingside and combine with the knight to attack.} Nxe5 24. Nxe5 $6 {this gives away most of the advantage, as I divert my knight from the best attacking square (g5) while also leaving Black's defending knight in place on f6. The Ne5's centralization looks good, but is not useful enough to compensate.} (24. fxe5 $18) 24... Bd7 $14 25. Nxd7 $6 {now we are back to equality. The knight was still superior to the bishop.} Qxd7 $11 26. Ra2 Ra8 27. Rba1 $6 {natural-looking but mistaken, as Black's potential activity on the a-file now outweighs White's.} (27. Rab2 $5 {doubling the potential pressure on the b-file, while not allowing Black to threaten to enter into my position on the a-file.}) 27... Rxa2 28. Rxa2 Nh5 (28... Bf8 {played immediately would activate the bishop to better effect.}) 29. Bc5 {played after a long think, and a little over-optimistic. My opponent in response thought for a while, then did not go for the critical line accepting the pawn sac.} (29. g3 {would be the simplest way to consolidate and maintain equality.}) 29... Bf8 (29... Nxf4 30. g3 Nd3 31. Bxd3 cxd3 32. Qe3 $11) 30. Ra7 $6 {the point of the previous move in my thinking. However, after the essentially forced bishop exchange, it has less of a point.} (30. Bxf8 $11) 30... Qe8 31. Bxf8 Kxf8 32. g3 {unfortunately none of the attacking moves (Qh4 etc.) do anything for White, so I end up consolidating the equal position.} Ra8 33. Qa1 Rxa7 34. Qxa7 Nf6 35. Qc5+ {we were both relatively low on time and recognized that the position was equal, with no progress likely, so a draw was agreed.} 1/2-1/2

Annotated Game #338: A queen ending, or a comedy of errors

I should have drawn the following tournament game, an Exchange Caro-Kann, at multiple points. However, my opponent pressed effectively and induced errors on the defense, ending up with what should have been a won queen ending (after it was very much a drawn queen ending). A comedy of errors then ensued, with a draw at the end - which was the right outcome from my perspective, even if wrongly achieved. Still, "drawing ugly" is almost as good as "winning ugly". The overwhelming importance of queen activity, especially versus a bare king, is a major takeaway from examining the ending.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class B"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "B13"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "172"] [GameId "2271414718922553"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 {the Exchange Variation has become quite popular again.} Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. h3 {an alternative to the standard Bf4, it prevents ...Bg4, which is a key move in the main line for Black.} g6 {supporting the alternate way to develop the light-square bishop, to f5.} (6... Qc7 {defers the bishop development and prevents Bf4. This position is often reached via transposition, with ...Qc7 having been played earlier on move 5.}) (6... e5 $5 {is the principled response and the engine favorite, taking advantage of the absence of a Bf4 for White to break in the center.} 7. dxe5 Nxe5 $11 {Black in exchange for an isolated queen's pawn is more active and will either gain a tempo on the Bd3 or can exchange it to obtain the two bishops.}) 7. Nf3 Bf5 8. Bxf5 {the critical line, creating a significant structural imbalance.} gxf5 9. Bf4 e6 $11 {this is perfectly viable, but it runs into some unfamiliar awkwardness after White's next move.} (9... Rg8 {is more direct and comes with tempo, forcing White to defend the g-pawn. I think this is also a better practical move-order, since Black wants to play this anyway.}) 10. Qb3 Qd7 $6 {the problem with this is White's next move.} (10... Qb6 {reduces the amount of threats White can make, as Black can now exchange queens if needed.}) 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. Bxe5 {this awkward pin would not be an issue with the rook on g8.} Be7 13. Nd2 {White has a slight advantage, as her pieces coordinate better, but Black is solid enough after} Rg8 14. Rg1 $6 {this allows me to improve my position, but I do not assess the middlegame properly.} Rc8 {this does not hurt, but it does not particularly help me accomplish anything, either.} (14... Ne4 15. Nxe4 fxe4 16. O-O-O f6 17. Bf4 O-O-O $11) 15. f3 {clearly intending to ram through g2-g4, but I miscalculate the response.} Nh5 $6 {unfortunately this is one of the worse options.} (15... h5 {is the most obvious reaction.} 16. g4 hxg4 17. hxg4 fxg4 18. fxg4 Nxg4 $11 {and the knight is pinned against the Rg8, but White cannot exploit this.}) (15... Qc6 {is more subtle.} 16. g4 fxg4 17. fxg4 Rg6 $11) (15... b5 $5 $11 {starts immediate counterplay, with ...b4 as a viable pawn sacrifice to open up lines for Black's pieces (the c-file and the e8-a3 diagonal).}) 16. g4 $14 Bh4+ $6 {this was played with no calculation of White's response, on the assumption that a check is always good.} (16... f6 {is awkward, but defends well enough.} 17. Bh2 Ng7 $14) 17. Ke2 f6 $2 (17... Ng7 $14 {is still possible, if a bit worse than before.}) 18. gxh5 Rxg1 19. Rxg1 $16 fxe5 20. dxe5 $16 {now White is a pawn up and I have no compensation, in fact White is also positionally better with the rook occupying the g-file.} Kf7 {I thought for a while here. This is the only move that keeps Black in the game, as the king helps control the g-file.} 21. f4 Rg8 22. Rxg8 {the best option, as the g-file cannot be kept under control.} Kxg8 23. Nf3 Bd8 $2 {I thought about retreating to both d8 and e7 and did not find much to choose between them, so picked what I thought was more flexible. However, White can now take advantage of this with her next move.} (23... Be7 24. h6 Bf8 $16) 24. h6 $18 Kf7 {staying in the corner seemed like a bad idea.} 25. Qa3 $2 {time pressure was starting to take its toll here. Incredibly, Black can now equalize with the active} Qb5+ $1 26. Kf2 Bb6+ $11 {White's extra doubled h-pawn is meaningless now, with Black's better piece activity.} 27. Nd4 Bc5 (27... Bxd4+ {immediately would have been a simpler way to draw, preventing any future N+Q combinations.} 28. cxd4 Qc4 $11) 28. b4 {unexpected, but it encourages me to play the good move} Bxd4+ 29. cxd4 Qc4 30. Qb2 $2 {here begins the queen ending comedy of errors, as highlighted by the engine.} b5 $6 {unambitiously (and uninspiredly) played to secure the draw, which it should have done.} (30... Qd3 $19 {and White has too many weaknesses, with the king and queen split too far from each other to cooperate; this makes them vulnerable to a skewer tactic from Black's queen. The immediate threat is to the h3 pawn, while the d4 pawn still needs to be guarded as well.}) 31. Qd2 a6 32. Kg2 Qc8 {this still draws, but the restriction of the queen's scope is not a good way to play.} (32... Kg6 $11 {keeps the Black queen threatening White's back ranks.}) 33. Qe2 Qg8+ 34. Kh2 Qg6 35. Qc2 Qxh6 36. Qc7+ Kg8 37. Qc8+ Kf7 {while this is all very annoying, White does not have a way to make progress.} 38. Qc1 Qf8 39. a3 Qe7 40. Kg3 h5 {this still draws, but again there are simpler ways.} (40... Kg6 $11) (40... Kg7 $11) 41. Qd1 h4+ 42. Kf2 Kg6 43. Qg1+ Kh6 $6 {unfortunately I miss how annoying White's next move can be.} (43... Kh7) 44. Qg8 Kh5 $6 (44... Qg7 $1 {and the K+P ending is still drawn, thanks to the closed pawn structure.} 45. Qxe6+ Qg6 46. Qxg6+ Kxg6 $11) 45. Ke2 Kh6 46. Kd2 Kh5 (46... Qd7 {is possible, as} 47. Qg5+ Kh7 48. Qxh4+ Kg7 $11 {and White's queen alone cannot make progress with the h-pawn.}) 47. Qh8+ Kg6 48. Qc8 a5 $2 {played in desperation under time pressure, as I thought White's queen would just keep scooping up pawns otherwise.} (48... Kh6 49. Qxa6 Qe8 $11 {holds, for example after} 50. a4 Qg6 {and again going after White's vulnerable king is the solution.}) 49. bxa5 $18 Kf7 {protecting the e-pawn.} 50. Qc5 Qb7 51. Qb6 Qe7 52. Qxb5 Qxa3 {of course I am still losing, but now have a practical chance of doing something active with my queen...eventually.} 53. Qd7+ Kg8 54. Qxe6+ Kh8 55. Qh6+ Kg8 56. Qg5+ Kh8 57. Qxh4+ Kg8 58. Qd8+ Kh7 59. Qc7+ Kh8 60. Qc3 Qa2+ 61. Kc1 Qf2 62. Qd2 {now it's my turn to be annoying.} Qf1+ 63. Kb2 Qb5+ 64. Ka3 Qb1 65. Ka4 Qa1+ 66. Kb5 Qf1+ 67. Kb6 Qb1+ 68. Ka6 Qb8 69. Qc3 Qa8+ 70. Kb5 Qb7+ 71. Ka4 Qd7+ 72. Ka3 Qb5 73. Qc8+ {here we go again.} Kg7 74. Qc7+ Kg8 75. Qd8+ Kg7 76. Qe7+ Kg8 77. Qe6+ Kg7 78. Qf6+ Kg8 79. Qxf5 Qxa5+ {my turn again.} 80. Kb2 $6 Qb5+ $6 (80... Qd2+ {would keep more of an open field between the Black queen and White king.} 81. Kb3 Qxd4 82. Qc8+ $18) 81. Kc1 Qc4+ 82. Kd1 Qxd4+ 83. Ke1 $2 {now I knew I could draw.} (83. Ke2 $18 {and the king can head for g4, while the e-pawn threatens to advance.}) 83... Qe3+ $1 $11 84. Kd1 Qd4+ $2 (84... d4 $1) 85. Kc2 $6 {going the wrong way.} (85. Ke2 $1 $18) 85... Qc4+ $2 {the problem is that the king could still head back to the kingside and run away from here.} (85... Qe3 $11 {gives up the checking crown to White, but permanently cuts off the White king from shelter.}) 86. Kb2 Qb4+ $2 {same problem as before, if the king runs back towards f3/g4, but neither I nor my opponent realize this, and a draw is agreed with my opponent coming near to flagging.} (86... Qe2+ $11) (86... Qd4+ $11) 1/2-1/2

Annotated Game #337: Winning less ugly

One of the truths of chess - that we sometimes overlook - is that for us to win, our opponent has to make a mistake; winning is therefore not simply attributable to our brilliance. Normally both sides make significant mistakes, hence Lasker's published observation (also attributed to Tartakower) "The winner of a game of chess is he who makes the last mistake but one."

In this next tournament game, if the result is perhaps not due to brilliant thought, I can at least say that I won less ugly than in Annotated Game #336. I make the strategic error of exchanging queens in the early middlegame, which erased my small advantage, but shortly afterwards I was able to induce a blunder of a pawn by my opponent. For the rest of the game, although we both could have improved our play, there were no huge mistakes and I convert the endgame in a solid fashion.

When you know you have a winning advantage (but not yet a won game), whatever way you can find at the board to successfully realize it is the best path. Engines will of course point out other moves, which normally are considered "better" simply because they win faster. However, there are no bonus points for finishing earlier. Here I again follow NM Dan Heisman's excellent practical advice to "go to sleep" in the endgame when winning, which means taking care to cover your weaknesses and deny your opponent counterplay, only then focusing on calculating the necessary winning breakthrough. If your advantage is structural, then you can afford to do this, and not spend precious energy trying to calculate complex variations, which have the potential to go awry.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class B"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D04"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "103"] [GameId "2271414718922552"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 Bf5 4. Nh4 Bg6 5. Nxg6 {this is the point of White's opening play, to exchange knight for bishop.} hxg6 6. c4 {challenging d5 while gaining space for White's now-unopposed light-square bishop.} e6 (6... c6 {is much more popular here, for whatever reason. The engine considers them equivalent.}) 7. g3 {the bishop is intended to eventually go to g2, so I decided to start the process early. This is fine, but since the queen could generate some early pressure from b3 in the absence of Black's light-square bishop, it might be best to see it develop there first, after exchanging pawns on d5.} (7. Nc3 {is the only move played in the small sample of database games.}) (7. cxd5 exd5 8. Qb3 Qc8 $14) 7... Be7 (7... c5 $11 {would be more challenging, taking advantage of White's slower approach.}) 8. Bg2 $14 c6 9. Qb3 Qb6 {the direct option. Black correctly is not concerned about doubled b-pawns after an exchange of queens, as this would give him the half-open a-file, along with contesting control of c5.} 10. Nc3 $11 {choosing to maintain the tension.} (10. Qc2 $5 $14 {also would avoid exchanging, while arguing that Black's queen is now doing less on b6 than White's queen on c2.}) 10... Nbd7 11. O-O O-O-O $6 {the Black king is certainly not safer on the queenside, so I expected my opponent did this based on a more aggressive desire to launch operations on the kingside.} 12. cxd5 $16 {thought for a while here, eventually deciding that opening up the c-file can't help but be good, given Black's king position.} exd5 13. Bd2 $6 (13. Qc2 $5 $16 {according to the engine, it is now best to preserve the queens; on general principle, this is best when looking to take advantage of an opponent's relatively weaker king position. The queen on c2 is certainly well-placed and Rb1 would be a strong follow-up.}) 13... Kb8 {my opponent also chooses to preserve the tension.} (13... Qxb3 14. axb3 a6 $11 {White, lacking a queen and with doubled b-pawns, is not going to be able to crack the Black defenses.}) 14. Qxb6 $6 {a strategic error, as noted above, although at least my pawn structure is preserved.} Nxb6 $11 15. b3 {most importantly, this covers c4 and prevents the Black knight from landing there.} Bd6 $6 {this seemed a bit of a waste of a tempo.} 16. a4 $14 {while the pawn advance gives up the b4 square, it is the most dynamic option on the queenside, and ends up provoking Black's next move.} a5 $2 {this natural-looking move to prevent a further White a-pawn advance is a critical error, blundering a pawn and fatally undermining the queenside. My opponent had not seen the idea of the backwards knight move} 17. Na2 Nbd7 18. Bxa5 $18 {White is now comfortably winning, with the two bishops and an extra pawn as the endgame approaches. Black has little counterplay, but there is a still a long way to go before I will have an actually won game.} b6 19. Bc3 (19. Bb4 {I also considered, but wanted to avoid} c5 {However, after} 20. Bc3 {White is doing quite well, as further exchanges on d4 or c5 will simplify the situation and enhance the structural advantage on the queenside.}) 19... Kb7 20. Rfc1 {activating the rook before commencing any other operations on the queenside.} Rde8 21. Be1 {I thought for a while here and found nothing better, although Bb4 was still an option. The idea is to get out of the way of the Rc1 and Na2, while maintaining the two bishops.} c5 $2 {as noted above, simplifications will only help White. I use a tempo to get my knight back into action.} 22. Nc3 {pressuring d5} Rh5 {I did not see this defensive move, but the rook is awkwardly placed. I also find the best follow-up with} 23. Nb5 {an excellent outpost square} Bb8 24. b4 {now a breakthrough of some sort is assured.} cxb4 (24... c4 $2 25. Rxc4 {exploiting the pin on the long diagonal.}) 25. Bxb4 Re6 {defending the key d6 square.} 26. Rc2 {looking to double rooks on either the c-file or a-file, staying flexible.} Rc6 27. Rxc6 {this gains a tempo, instead of continuing the doubling plan, as I would have expected Black was to take on c2.} Kxc6 28. Rc1+ Kb7 29. Nd6+ Bxd6 {otherwise the f7 pawn goes.} 30. Bxd6 {Black temporarily has prevented further material loss, but the two bishops will dominate Black's two knights in the endgame.} Ne8 31. Bb4 (31. g4 $5 {I did not consider here.} Rg5 32. Bg3 {and now the g4 pawn is poisoned after} Rxg4 $2 33. Bxd5+ Ka6 34. Rc8 {and Black loses material.}) (31. Bf4 {would be a more active retreat square, given that} g5 $2 {is met by} 32. Bxd5+) 31... Nef6 32. Bf1 {I decided it was time to redeploy the bishop, given that the d5 pawn was over-protected.} Rh8 33. Bb5 {the two bishops are cooperating well now. My opponent was down to just a few minutes on the clock before the time control by this point.} Nb8 34. Kg2 Nfd7 35. h4 {I decided to go with solid, consolidating moves rather than try for too much. This made it a bit easier for my opponent to make the time control, but I was confident I could win the resulting position.} Rc8 36. Rxc8 Kxc8 37. Kf3 {the idea is to get the king into the action and eventually pressure d5.} Kc7 38. g4 Nc6 39. Ba3 {I do not want to trade any pieces, given how well my two bishops work together.} f6 40. Kf4 (40. Bxc6 {the engine is happy to cash in the two bishops for an advantage in the center.} Kxc6 41. e4 $18 {and White will soon have a passed d-pawn.}) 40... Nd8 41. Kg3 (41. e4 {is already possible, but I continued to play solidly and keep my opponent away from any counterplay.} dxe4 42. Kxe4 $18) 41... Ne6 42. Bd3 {targeting the weak doubled pawns.} g5 43. hxg5 (43. h5 $5) 43... fxg5 44. Bf5 Ndf8 45. Kf3 (45. f4 $5 {I considered; it is objectively stronger, but I was focused on getting my king more centralized.}) 45... g6 46. Bb1 Kd7 47. Ke2 Kc6 48. Kd3 Nd7 49. f3 {still playing solidly to consolidate my position, before making a decisive break.} Ndf8 50. Kc3 {now the king is protecting the d4 pawn while opening the Bb1's main diagonal.} Kd7 51. Ba2 {Black cannot cover all of his weaknesses now.} Kc6 52. e4 {and my opponent resigned, as d5 falls.} 1-0

Chess as part of lifetime cognitive enrichment

A recent study published in Neurology - read the abstract here - has been highlighted in the press, including in this Washington Post article. The general conclusion, from the abstract:

Lifetime exposure to cognitive enrichment was related to lower risk of AD dementia and a slower rate of cognitive decline, including after adjustment for common ADRD pathologies, indicating higher resilience provided by lifetime enrichment. Our results suggest that cognitive health in later life is in part the product of lifetime exposure to cognitive enrichment.

An excerpt from expert commentary in the WaPo article, which also cited some other recent studies in the area:

The findings nod to the concept of “cognitive reserve”— the idea, popularized by Columbia University neuropsychologist Yaakov Stern, that the brain can adapt to damage or aging by relying on alternative networks or strategies. The theory is that mentally demanding activities over a lifetime may strengthen neural connections, giving the brain more flexibility to compensate.

The Neurology study apparently cited chess as particularly impactful among older people, although practicing it as a complex skill - similar to playing a musical instrument or learning a foreign language - has value in exercising your cognitive functions at any stage of life. What all these practices have in common is the requirement for "effortful study" to both improve and maintain a higher level of performance.

While the intrinsic motivation to excel at something you enjoy doing is probably the most powerful impulse for chess improvement, it is certainly good to have more indications that positive brain health outcomes are also associated with it.