Here’s why Chess is better than Video Games

Chess is better than Video Games

Who says video games are better than chess? Both video games and chess don’t involve rigid muscle movement, yet chess has a greater contribution to the development of higher-order thinking skills such as synthesizing, analyzing, reasoning and others. It enhances a player’s creativity and imagination. Thus, this helps those chess masters elevate their IQ level. Furthermore, all you need is a chessboard and an opponent to play with.

Before explaining further the benefits of playing chess, Meltcomics is better to define or describe what a Chess is and a video game is

Chess Vs Video Games

Chess is a board game that involves 5 characters with different roles. The main goal of a player is to protect his/her king while trying to check, without capturing, the opponent’s king until it doesn’t have any spaces left to move. Check means a player’s king is in the state of being captured in the next move of the opponent. On the other hand, a video game is an electronically manipulated game. One platform where you could find a variety of video games is Roblox. Furthermore, Roblox is where users can create their own video game. Although a platform like Roblox is beneficial to enhance the creativity of individuals, there are still issues involved in it.

Benefits of playing chess

Here are the benefits of playing chess. There are tons of researches that support the following benefits.

  1. Improves IQ level

Although measuring IQ levels involves a standardized test that includes concepts in various areas, researchers found out that individuals who play chess elevate their IQ level. One research conducted in Venezuela used 4,000 students as respondents in the study. After four months of playing chess, the IQ scores of the participants increased.

  1. Improves memory

Playing chess involves thinking backward and forward. Thinking backward means that you have to connect your past moves to your present move. On the other hand, thinking forward means that you have to anticipate your next moves or the possible moves of your opponent. It also involves a backup plan in case your first plan doesn’t work. Furthermore, you have to think of your king while targeting your opponent’s king. Doing so helps our neurons build more connections with each other which helps expand our memory storage.

  1. Utilizes two sides of the brain

The right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for performing tasks that involve creativity and imagination while the left hemisphere of our brain is responsible for performing tasks that involve problem-solving skills, analytic skills, and others. Since a player has to visualize his/her next moves and also the opponent’s moves, the player is using his/her right hemisphere. At the same time, the player is utilizing his/her left hemisphere when he/she tries to find a way to protect his/her king or to escape his/her vulnerable piece.

  1. Improves problem-solving skills

When playing chess, you have to sacrifice one of your pieces to save the piece that you think is more significant in your next move. This involves in-depth planning while foreseeing of the opponent’s plan. If your king is in danger, you have to plan on how to save it or else you will lose the game.

  1. Improves concentration

Playing involves planning and prediction. Hence, a player can only do this through concentration.

  1. It helps you play in a different environment

Players could get their chessboard and play in any place they want. Moreover, they don’t have to use electricity or to connect to the internet to play.

Although there are skills that both video games and chess could develop, there are skills that only a video game can develop which chess cannot such as sensory skills. However, video games have a lot of disadvantages as well. Some of its disadvantages are the tendency for players to get addicted, increase of aggressiveness in players, openness to unethical images, and the effects it has on the social life of an addicted individual.

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