@1
After any surgery cognitive abilities temporarily go down from anaesthetics, but it comes back.
Age also diminishes cognitive abilities. At age 55 you cannot expect to play like at 25.
Brain surgery may have impaired some abilities, depending on where and how severe.
"I have been able to get into the 1800s for both blitz and rapid."
++ Many people without surgery do not reach that.
"Bullet however" ++ Why bullet? Try for 2000 rapid. Count your blessings. You still can play.
I used to be a fencer before rheumatoid arthritis tore up my joints. Sometimes there is just no coming back. Instead of trying to play on the level you used to, find ways to level playing field. Maybe. I wasn't always a fencer, even. I used to box before that, and when my hands couldn't take the impact anymore I began studying swordplay. I've been in pain my whole life, nothing I want is compatible with the hand I was dealt. I loved my physical abilities, even in their limited state. I believed I could keep adapting and finding new and interesting fighting techniques, and now I'm near completely crippled. Everyone goes down eventually. Either you're tapped out or knocked out. I'm no chess player. I'm a thug. I've always solved problems physically. But I can understand where you're coming from. I destroyed myself pursuing what I loved. They are right though. You proved yourself already. Death comes for us all in the end. You got the chance before it started creeping in. And maybe you don't wanna do hear that. I'm not doing too good; don't like to hear that either. But it's there Find something. Find a way. Make something new and interesting until you completely break. Not to prove yourself to other people, but for what you want, what your passion is. If chess is ruined forever for you, find or outright make something better. I wish chess was a game any and all could be worthy opponents in. I wish I could still fight. But fight? Just leaves us, eventually.
I think the possibilities of how a brain injury can affect a person are almost endless. I had a subdural hematoma from an accident about 5 years ago and had to have an operation to relieve the swelling. As far as I can tell it didn't affect my abilities in any way. I wasn't playing chess back then though.
But... look at Daniel Tammet - subject of the movie Brainman. He had epileptic seizures as a child and grew up to set the world record for reciting pi. He recited it to 22,514 digits.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Tammet
Some researchers believe that the childhood seizures gave him his exceptional abilities.
Hmm, interesting subjects come up when I'm searching for something esle.
I'm struggling against memory loss induced by some (prescribed) medicine. Long story short, mental illness has been reducing everything for me and I can't even work. I only go out when I can to the nearest chess club.
I'm not brutally injured but overtime my concentration and memory have decreased and clearly I'm frustrated when I don't see something obvious on the board.
I am just trying to reduce the medicine (this one at leas) to stop it and continue to train the best I can. One day at a time and one step at a time. If I can reach 1200 ELO I'll be glad already. (It's only been 3 month since I've played each day a bit).
this was a boy who underwent 4 brain surgeries which helped cope the seizures and his decease which disconnected the left part of his brain. he relearned how to speak and walk, becoming a national master one year afterwards which i think is a very true inspirational american dream
hats off to as the reporter names him, the king 
I am nowhere as good as you. Never was. Still I also suffered an extremely disabling hypoxic brain injury. Mine was caused from a half an hour of cardiac arrest following hypothermia about 29 years ago. I retried playing chess online two years ago. My memory, and problem solving ability is still present when playing the game. Unfortunately my short term attention usually causes completely thoughtless blunders. I’ll have good days when all I will do is win games, and bad days when I lose against beginners. So far my highest rating is only 620, but I am currently at only 475. Still considering that 29 years ago, I was placed into a month long drug induced coma, and my cognitive therapist told me that my cognition was completely shot, I’ll take it.
It takes really some courage to face all of this and playing chess in the aftermath.
I think I wouldn't be as brave as I can barely stand to play chess when I'm under the effect of (prescribed) medication and I feel you when you said "shot term attention usually causes completely thoughtless blunders"... I'm still angry at myself thinking about the last game I played at the club (I had black pieces and was winning by a long shot, blunder, I lost the game).
Other thing, whatever the injury, is sometimes not being able to talk about it to people playing chess even if you are at the club. Sometimes I admit the mistake was mine. Sometimes it's just that I can't play and I doesn't remember the moves I did 5 minutes ago so the tactics is diffcult.
But you can't speak of it. It's too hard for people to understand.
I said earlier I would be glad if I reached 1200 ELO... it has been done (since this month) but it's worth knowing I probably will go under.
Anyway, thanks for sharing. Good luck and take care. Keep on trying. Being rated is one thing, enjoying playing is another. The last one is the main reason I keep playing.
I play an ex IM, on this site, who had an injury also, at a young age. How he got it is complicated, but today he has seizure disorders, and also takes medication. Currently he is rated on this site over 1000. When I play him, I actually win some games. Somehow when I play stronger players my game improves. Still have me play a 300 in a half hour game, or a 110 in a 5 minute rapid game, and I’ll lose every time.
I really want to find a place to play real games. Playing on line is a lot different. I need the practice. I played my nephew real games twice, and he was really playing a bad game. Still he won both games because I made thoughtless blunders. That’s how all beginners beat me. I have to work on that.
I am prob the guy you want to talk to, I will send you a personal message.
Very interesting topic. I'm sorry if my english is not good. After many years of meds due to psychiatric problems, I am at the limits of mild cognitive impairment (tests made in april). Now I quitted the most of meds, but there is no recovery. But I must say chess is the domain in which I my abilities resist the most. Memory and executive fonctions, and expressive language are much more affected. Many years ago I could write in a good english. I also used to write some poetry, in italian and even in french. In 2016 (the decline was at his beginning) I had a rating of 1900, now I have 1700 in chess.com in rapid. In blitz and bullet I've always been weaker.
I searched for a topic like this because I had a traumatic brain injury a few years ago. I started playing chess 8 months ago to use as a timed break between study breaks of dense technical type material. Now I am addicted to chess. I find playing the game soothing- winning/losing/rating whatever. I'm chasing a dopamine hit of pattern recognition. I don't really know why I'm sharing this. I guess I'm using chess to disassociate from other areas where I'm feeling frustrated. I suppose I'm wondering if others have had a similar experience? thoughts?
Actually there's a kind of addiction I had at the beginning when I (re)started playing and at the club. It's now share a kind of love/hate relationship with chess. Because of what follows :
Daniel Dardha, GM and 18-year-old guy a bit over 2600 ELO, said early september at my club that chess is studying (at least 5-6 hours a day) and talent could help but it is mostly studying. (He said it on TV, I could give you a link but it's in french.)
I'm still under medication and I'm a feeling a bit annoyed because I've reached my goal and I now just want to have fun. But a lot of people goes at the chess club to get a great perf score before having fun.
Now what's the point if what I like became studying which is not what I am able to do with chess? It's weird though, I've regain a bit of understanding about what I love (I took a physic book about strings theory and it's easier for me to understand that weirdly).
So, love and hate ... I love it to have fun. I hate it when competition comes just for the sake of performing. I'm a a pivoting moment : should I go at the club tomorrow or not? It's playing but a rated game.
I'm done with pattern recognition, tips, tricks, line learning. There's a guy at the club I don't want to play with because he knows a lot of variation about an opening and I know I will lose if he gets the white pieces.
I see Chess, now, as a game of computation and only that. What can I say, I'm agree with Fischer. Creativity is way down the list when it comes to playing chess. I hate it but I can't stop playing from time to time at least.
I am looking for information, stories and contacts on how brain injury impacted chess ability.
In my case, I achieved my masters title in my 20s but stopped playing for family and work. I always expected to take up chess again in retirement. However 3 years ago at age 55 I developed Hypoxia from a heart issue and was later diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Peripheral Neuropathy after corrective surgery. I was in rather bad shape and was put on disability and spent the first year in occupation therapy and lots of appointments. I tried to play some chess online but found that my rating on my old ChessBase “Play Chess” account quickly dropped into the 1400s.
After working on recovering and finding work arounds for most day to day issues, my therapist revisited Chess with me. So after setting up a new account on Chess.com this April I started again. First ratings here were in the 1400 but I have been able to get into the 1800s for both blitz and rapid. Bullet however… first ratings were in the 1300 or under and I’ve only recently been into the 1600s on good days.
If you know of someone who has taken this path please let me know or pass on my info. Also any other pointers or links to stories would be appreciated.