Does Chess Make You Better In Math?

Or does math make you better in chess?

I've heard about this connection between chess and math. But is that true? I love to play chess and I'm pretty good in math but many kind of math I find boring!

no it doesnt

It is said that chess does improve your math scores

I doubt there's a connection.  Chess might improve your visualization skills and your analytical thinking skills in broad terms, but I doubt it concretely improves your math skills.

i dont know but Lasker and Euwe,two world champions,were mathematician.

And they both had a cat too. 

math and chess both have the same core function: logic

I think that math improves your math skills.

lol exactly

Although, now that it's brought up, cats may have something to do with it...

Ahm fixin' ta go to tha pet store an' git me one 'o them there cats!

no

In general:

Mechanics are often mediocre or worse in computer related fields

Computer "geeks" rarely know how to fix a car

The above, minus the constant exceptions, show that there is a potential pattern not to the skill set of the person dependent on the job, but rather the skill set of the person dependent on their personal nature and nurture. In short, it is a psychological issue. For instance, I am great at calculating out variations and finding tactics on a chess board. This translates over to mathematics in the sense that I can often find patterns and shortcuts to problems. However, very rarely am I able to solve the said problems myself. This has led to me flunking Calculus, the only class that I have ever failed.

To explain things more clearly:

Electrical bursts within your brain dictate synaptic activity. This activity often correlates to the part of the brain that drives certain skills such as problem solving, comprehension, motor skills, etc. Depending on the use of such areas throughout your life (excluding unique cases) these areas can and will shrink or grow in size.

Chances are when you look at a chess board the information conveyed will first travel through your eyes and into your Occipital Lobe. The Occipital Lobe then technically transfers this information to your Frontal Lobe which then attempts to solve the problem that you saw. However, mathematics is in it's own category. You see, the brain has an independent area around or near the Parietal Cortex which makes rough calculations and often works with other parts of the brain to find the solution to more advanced equations and mathematical sequences. (the independence here is that Chess is not Math and must be learned whereas some mathematical skills can be found in other species such as apes and parrots).

To make what could be a long story much shorter, while there is certainly some correlation between math and chess, the correlation itself is based around your ability to solve problems through what you have learned in regards to the specific situation. (The difference between learning and knowing) It really isn't easy to explain, especially for an amatuer such as myself.

Exceptions:

In Chess and Math there are exceptions to the rules stated above. Some children are born with a strength in chess similar to that of a master and are always able to play strong games. On the other hand, whether through brain trauma or birth, there have been a handful of cases of people displaying great talent in math.

Einstein developed his abilities through years of studying and trial and error and was not initially the super genius everybody thinks he always was. More recently there is a guy who, through a traumatic experience (if I am remembering correctly) forced his brain to shift the mathematical calculations directly into his Motor Cortex. This shift, at a guess, was due to a type of brain elasticity, or the brain's ability to flex and change depending on long-term stimuli. In short, many calculations became as natural to him as walking. Longer, more intense equations which required more than just that area of the brain would take him much longer however.

So is there a true correlation? The ultimate verdict at this time is a big fat old maybe. However, we likely know more about the universe and all life on Earth than we do about the human mind. It may therefore be decades before we see even the hint of a real answer to this question.

Phew, pardon the rambling folks! Classes are coming so I am getting back into the swing of things!

how long did you spend writing that lol

thanks for the article

Mmm, maybe 15minutes? Had to look up the names of a couple things. Four years in college equates to some information being lost in the mix.

After learning to play blindfold chess, I began solving math blindfold. First the easy ones like 343 times 315, and then writing everything down on a paper inside my head, but sometimes I do something more complicated than that. 

There might be a connection

You had to practice to get good at doing problems blindfolded. At a guess I would speculate that by playing chess blindfolded you just conditioned your brain for increased visualization. For instance, do you believe that had you done math blindfolded first that it would somehow increase your ablility to accurately play chess blindfolded?

The answer would obviously be "yes".

However, to test this, simply practice something else that requires visualization and come back to math and/or chess blindfolded. I suspect that you will see an increase in the proficiency of either or both. 

This is because the only real connection that we know of at the moment (as explained above) lies in your Frontal Lobes. Aka the ability to problem solve. Chess worked out the areas of your brain related to problem solving and visualization (among others) which translated to an easier time in other endeavors.

i think chess is like playing with lots of dolls and that never helped my math.

GM John Nunn is a mathematician too. Who else? Among thousands of GMs and IMs, not so many are mathematicians or engineers. Chess does not make one better in Math. It's the other way around. Math makes one better in chess IMO. I'm also a mathematician (without degree)