We all know that chess is good for mind, but is it also a game against time? Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of conditions where brain cells degenerate over time. Diseases in this group include Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Neurodegenerative diseases cause degeneration of brain cells, resulting in a loss of memory and cognitive ability. Does a game of sixty-four squares hold the key to a healthy brain? Scientists say yes.
Understanding Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of medical conditions where brain cells degenerate over time. Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia and is the most common form of dementia. Neurodegenerative diseases affect almost fifty million people across the world. Ten million new cases are diagnosed every year. Neurodegenerative diseases cause degeneration of brain cells, resulting in a loss of memory and cognitive ability.
Board Games and Brain Health
Playing board games is more than just a fun activity, and it exercises memory, reasoning, and social skills. A French study conducted over twenty years revealed that elderly people who played board games regularly were fifteen percent less likely to develop dementia. In another study, it was revealed that people above seventy-five years old, if they engaged in leisure activities such as chess, were thirty-five percent less likely to develop dementia than those who did not play games like chess.
Why Chess is Special
What is special about chess is that it exercises all the following skills simultaneously:
- Memory: Players need to recall openings and games that were played earlier.
- Calculation: Players need to calculate the consequences of the moves that are to be made.
- Spatial reasoning: Players need to visualize the board and the pieces on it.
- Critical thinking: Players need to make the best decisions regarding the strategies that are to be employed.
Playing chess exercises the brain fully and helps keep it supple and strong by improving synaptic connections and neural plasticity.
| Evidence Source | Key Finding |
|---|---|
| Scoping review of 21 studies | Chess can delay dementia onset by 1–1.5 years |
| French 20-year study | Elderly board game players had 15% lower risk of dementia |
| New England Journal of Medicine | Over-75s who played leisure games were 35% less likely to develop dementia |
| Studies on Go (Chinese board game) | Improved reasoning and self-control in Alzheimer’s patients |
Cognitive Reserve
The idea of cognitive reserve helps in understanding why some people are able to fight dementia for a longer period of time than others. When people engage in higher education and learning, their brain networks become stronger. Individuals whose cognitive activity scores are higher have a thirty-three percent reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Playing chess is a mentally stimulating game that enhances cognitive reserve and thus delays the symptoms.
- Higher education and learning strengthen brain networks
- People whose cognitive activity scores are higher have a thirty-three percent reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease
- Chess strengthens cognitive reserve and thus delays symptoms
A Universal Tool
Chess is a universal tool that can be enjoyed across different cultures and age groups. Whether in India, where school children have shown improved academic results after learning how to play chess, or in European countries where older people have shown improved memory functions, chess is proving itself to be an essential tool for people of all ages. Unlike other forms of exercise, which can prove to be physically taxing for older people, chess is a low-impact but highly stimulating game.
Conclusion
While chess is not the solution for neurodegenerative diseases, it can certainly prove to be an invaluable asset. By stimulating the brain with the use of memories, logic, and thinking, it can provide the brain with an extra shield against decline. Considering the millions of people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, the inclusion of the game of chess in one’s life could prove to be an easy solution.
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