Since its inception, chess has struggled with its reputation as a game reserved for idiots and brainiacs with exceptionally high IQs.
Instead, they found that exercise stimulates both hemispheres of the brain, and experts use both sides of their brain to answer questions.
It should come as no surprise that stimulating the right side of your brain boosts creativity, as the right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for creativity.
To help you win, a skilled player must be able to recognize trends, organize long-range move plans, and recall past opponent tactics.
This study shows how much of the problem-solving abilities used in mathematics are used in the game of chess.
Planning, decisions, and self-control are all controlled by the prefrontal cortex, one of the last areas of the brain to develop in humans.