No, IQ has nothing to do with playing strength. Many grandmasters have an average IQ.
Higher IQ, better chess?
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I also believe higher IQ doesn't necessarily make for stronger chess.
I would be curious to find where it has been statisticly shown or studied that many grandmasters have an average IQ.
I agree. But I also think to be a top ten (Jalifman, nothing less, once described himself as an "intermediate player") you need everything.
Ohh snap!
Alot of people won't agree with me in this, but I think that chess skills isn't a reliable measure of intelligence. While chess encompasses certain cognitive skills like spatial visualisation, pattern recognition and memory, it is too simplistic to say only these cognitive functions constitute intellect.
TheBlunderfulPlayer wrote:
No, IQ has nothing to do with playing strength. Many grandmasters have an average IQ.
Do you realize your statement is not very logical?
ponz111 wrote:
TheBlunderfulPlayer wrote:
No, IQ has nothing to do with playing strength. Many grandmasters have an average IQ.
Do you realize your statement is not very logical?
How? Just because you have a high IQ doesn't mean that you'll necessarily become good at chess. Just because you have an average IQ doesn't mean that you'll be horrible at chess. How is that illogical?
Squishey wrote:
Alot of people won't agree with me in this, but I think that chess skills isn't a reliable measure of intelligence. While chess encompasses certain cognitive skills like spatial visualisation, pattern recognition and memory, it is too simplistic to say only these cognitive functions constitute intellect.
I agree.
If chess and iq where related it would mean that if you got a lot better then chess, your IQ raises as well. Obviously from numerous studies this is not the case (and if there is a relation, it's a very small one).
Getting better at chess only makes your chess ability grow, not your IQ.
I think people have the idea that a stereotypical chess player is a nerd or a geek with a slightly higher intelligence then the average. That's why somehow people think that if you must play chess you probably have an higher IQ. But this is the chicken and egg paradox, are smarter people attracted to chess or does chess makes smarter people? Chess does only make people smarter in chess itself.
MonkeyH wrote:
If chess and iq where related it would mean that if you got a lot better then chess, your IQ raises as well. Obviously from numerous studies this is not the case (and if there is a relation, it's a very small one).
Getting better at chess only makes your chess ability grow, not your IQ.
I think people have the idea that a stereotypical chess player is a nerd or a geek with a slightly higher intelligence then the average. That's why somehow people think that if you must play chess you probably have an higher IQ. But this is the chicken and egg paradox, are smarter people attracted to chess or does chess makes smarter people? Chess does only make people smarter in chess itself.
Well said!
Sep 23, 2015
0
#14
Squishey wrote:
Alot of people won't agree with me in this, but I think that chess skills isn't a reliable measure of intelligence. While chess encompasses certain cognitive skills like spatial visualisation, pattern recognition and memory, it is too simplistic to say only these cognitive functions constitute intellect.
I agree. Sorry.
Just don't confuse intelligence with intellect.....
Is it "inteligent" to raise the same thread hundreds of times, and say the same things, over and over again ???
Run With It...
kaynight wrote:
I agree with TheBlunder... My playing strength is not too good, but I am the most intelligent person here. Just saying.
The clearest exposition in this thread! Thank you kindly.
nobodyreally wrote:
I agree. Sorry.
Just don't confuse intelligence with intellect.....
Ah, yea, my bad... Pardon my choice of words. I have a tendency to not repeat volcabulary within a paragraph.
Sep 23, 2015
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#18
Fiveofswords wrote:
well people are getting a little absurd.
there is such a thing as just flat intellect. some brains jsut think ebtter than others, especially in relation to abstract concepts/problem solving/memory/etc.
A person with better than average talents in such areas will also have better potential than average in chess.
the correlation may be small with iq and chess performance...but its not all that small, and it exists.
But people get really confused over categories. jsut because higher intellect alone suggests a person has higher potential in chess, it does not guaruntee anything. there are other factors. for example if the person jsut never plays chess cause they dont enjoy the game or never learned the game...then duh they arent very good.
conversely, simply because idiots are occasionally good at chess, does not mean that if you are an idiot you should expect that hard work will give you a gm title. jsut may never happen, sorry.
There exists/for every....possible/certain. these are the qualifiers many are confused about. they are different things with different implications.
Of course there is a correlation between someone's IQ and his chess strength. Like there is between his IQ and driving a car, making a sandwich or taking a bath.
Fact is that very strong chess-players on average also have much higher than average IQ's. But like MonkeyH pointed out. There is the chicken and the egg business.
I happen to know a man who works in my local university. He is a threefold professor in mathematics, physics and chemistry. He also is the most motivated, fanatic and loyal member of the local chess club for over 40 years now.
His rating you ask? 1326
Exactly.
Sep 23, 2015
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#20
Fiveofswords wrote:
so then you agree. there does exist a correlation, but there is no guaruntee.
I dont see how this is really a chicken or egg thing. Iq is strongly correlated to genetics also...most people cant train themselves to be smarter...or not by much. Its more like a correlation between size and how much you can bench press. Sure a 500 lb monster with 3% body fat is almsot certainly going to bench press more than a 120 lb nerdy white rock singer. Theres no chicken or egg involved. But hey its no guaruntee...maybe the monster guy has some terrible bone disease. idk.
The chicken and the egg thing is pretty simple.
IF it is a fact that in general people with a higher than average intelligence feel drawn towards playing chess and people with lower IQ's stay away from the game, then automatically the average IQ of chess players is higher than the general average.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Of course, this is just an assumption. If this is actually the case, needs to be checked.
ps. and don't even get me started on the unreliability of IQ-testing. 
So I've been wondering, if someone has a high IQ of 160, and they decide that they want to learn and play chess. Will they play better chess than someone who has a lower IQ such as 90. I think so, because chess is a mental game, so logicaly, someone who is very smart would do well. But I like to have more opinons on this.