🧠 Chess as Brain Training: Where It Starts to Lose Its Magic
A few years ago, during a self-development binge, I found myself diving into books about brain performance and cognitive enhancement. Some were light and accessible — like Your Brain at Work by David Rock (or the Polish Twój Mózg by Michał Cymes) and The Brain Exercises by Kaja Nordengen. Others were heavier, like Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool. That rabbit hole led me straight into the world of chess — not as a sport, but as a tool for sharpening the mind.
At the time, my daughter was five, and I was deeply interested in what could help both of us grow intellectually. Chess looked like a clear winner. Strategic thinking, deep calculation, recognizing tactical patterns — all these pushed the brain to work harder, faster, and more creatively. The benefits seemed endless.
And for a while, they were.
🧩 The Magic of Learning Chess
There’s something magical about learning chess in the beginning. You solve puzzles. You learn to outsmart your opponent. You start calculating variations, visualizing future positions, exploring endgames. Your brain literally feels sharper.
I would argue that up to a certain level — somewhere around the 1800 to 2000 rating mark — chess is absolutely brilliant for mental development. You’re building logic, intuition, attention, discipline, and raw cognitive stamina. For kids, it’s an especially powerful gym for the mind.
But then something shifts.
⚠️ Where the Grind Begins
Beyond a certain point, chess becomes less about thinking and more about memorizing. The higher you climb, the more you realize: elite-level chess is a memory grind. Opening theory starts to dominate. Players spend thousands of hours memorizing lines, variations, novelties — all just to survive the first 15–20 moves of the game and hopefully reach either a slightly better or at least equal position.
At the grandmaster level, this grind consumes nearly 100% of your preparation (as stated by Jan-Krzysztof Duda, the top Polish grandmaster). The game becomes less about creativity and more about knowledge recall.
Even Magnus Carlsen, the greatest chess player of all time, has openly expressed boredom with over-preparation and theory-heavy openings. He now champions Chess960 (also known as Fischer Random) in hopes of bringing back surprise and spontaneity to the game — precisely because he’s tired of facing opponents armed with deeply analyzed, computer-generated schemes.
But let’s be honest — give it time, and even Chess960 may get mapped out. Obsession always finds a way to kill creativity.
👨👧 Genius Is Made, Not Born
One of the most powerful examples of that comes from Peak by Anders Ericsson — the same researcher who popularized the “10,000-hour rule” (and later clarified it). He tells the story of László Polgár, a Hungarian psychologist who once claimed, “geniuses are made, not born.” To prove it, he decided to raise his daughters to become chess grandmasters — in a world that was, at the time, completely male-dominated.
He succeeded.
All three daughters became grandmasters. Judit Polgár, the youngest, went on to become the strongest female player in history — and at her peak, competed head-to-head with the best male grandmasters of her era.
This story shatters the myth that you have to be born a genius to succeed. Intelligence helps, but nothing replaces deliberate, focused training. Even Magnus Carlsen confirmed this during his appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, saying that to become really good at chess, you don’t necessarily need to be brilliant — you just need to memorize a lot. Only at the very top do raw processing skills make the difference.
💡 Transferrable Power
While chess might not always lead to fame or fortune, it’s impossible to overlook the powerful habits and traits it instills in those who pursue it seriously.
To improve in chess, you need structure, focus, consistency, and long-term discipline. These are not just chess skills — they’re life skills. The ability to sit down, concentrate deeply, study systematically, and push through failure? That’s something you can take with you into any field — from science to business to engineering.
In my view, people (especially kids) who stay on the path of improvement — even just for a while — reveal an enormous hidden potential. They prove they can work hard, delay gratification, and think independently. With that mindset, they could thrive in almost any demanding domain.
Chess may not always reward you with medals or money —
But it can give you something far more valuable:
Character.
💸 Chess Is Not a Career (For Almost Anyone)
And here’s the uncomfortable truth: even if you reach the elite level, the financial rewards are shockingly modest — especially when compared to other competitive professions or sports.
I’ve seen income reports of players ranked among the top 15 in the world. And even at that level, most of them earn far less than professionals in equally demanding fields. Unlike soccer (football in Europe) — where even moderately known players earn handsomely — top chess players often struggle to monetize their exceptional skill.
In Poland, for example, there are around 40 active grandmasters — and only one or two can truly live comfortably from chess. But millions of people in the country know how to play, and tens of thousands engage with the game at some level.
That means for almost anyone — even the extremely talented — chess is unlikely to become a viable career.
Out of curiosity, I’ve followed the journeys of young Polish talents like Jakub Kosakowski and Antoni Kozak — players clearly on the path to becoming grandmasters. And to be honest, it felt a bit sad to see how little financial support or recognition such promising individuals receive. With the kind of work ethic they’ve developed through chess, I have no doubt they could excel in any field — if only they were given a real chance.
And perhaps the most striking sign of how demanding and unforgiving the chess world truly is?
Some of the greatest minds in chess — like Alexander Grischuk and even Magnus Carlsen — have said they wouldn’t want their own children to pursue chess professionally.
Carlsen himself explained that there are simply easier and more rewarding paths in life.
That says a lot more than any statistics ever could.
🤯 Mental Health: The Hidden Cost
And that’s not even the full price.
Elite chess puts immense strain on the mind. Many of the greatest players in history — Wilhelm Steinitz, Alexander Alekhine, Bobby Fischer — struggled with serious psychological issues. The pressure, the obsession, the isolation, the perfectionism — it adds up. Even Carlsen has mentioned that blindfold simuls leave him mentally drained for days.
The brain is powerful, but it has limits. And high-level chess relentlessly pushes them.
✅ So… Is It Worth It?
Absolutely — to a point.
Play. Solve tactics. Learn endgames. Think deeply. Outsmart your opponent. Stretch your mind. It’s a phenomenal way to sharpen your cognitive abilities.
But know where the line is.
There’s a point where the mental returns shrink, and the cost — in time, effort, and opportunity — skyrockets.
When chess becomes an obsession with memorized lines and rating anxiety, the learning dies. You stop exploring. You start executing.
And that’s where I chose to stop.
🏁 My Journey
I played about 600 games across various platforms. On Lichess, I peaked around 1700. On Chess.com, about 1400 — which put me ahead of 95% of players. I read books, practiced tactics, analyzed positions. I got smarter. My brain thanked me.
But I also knew when to walk away.
Because chess should sharpen your mind —
not consume it.
And the best part?
I still have it in my back pocket.
A tool I can return to anytime — to stretch my brain, challenge my focus, and give my mind the workout it craves.