Is chess worth learning for a stupid person?

i could,nt,t play till i was 30+. As for stupid?

A good general piece of advice is not to bring self-esteem issues into this game, or the roller coaster ride will destroy you.

Unless you only want to play it to achieve excellence, chess brings many side benefits to players of all ages. If you only worry about performance, you might just be adding another stressing factor to your life and not doing yourself any favors.

To me, the question in the thread title is analogous to "is it worth working out if I am overweight?"

The analogy is particularly relevant in the context of aging people trying to stay sharp and ward off degenerative diseases such as alzheimer's. However, I feel it is also very relevant in the context of a younger person trying to work themselves out of intellectual laziness. Chess encourages you to think critically.

It's also very fun.

And if you are really worried that you might only fail and embarass yourself (a legitimate and common concern), you can add one more to the pile of "I am literally a dumb ass but after putting in some work I can play well!" stories.

 I hear chess is good for developing your concentration, and creativity just like sports is good for the overweight.

the stupider the better

Well, learning chess made me seem less stupid. I think.

1. Stop believing you are stupid.  You write very well.  I suspect your intelligence is well above average.

2. Chess is really just an exercise for the mind.  If you are stupid, you most definitely should play chess.  If you are fat and out of shape, you should exercise/play a sport.

3. If you enjoy it, then do it.

Winning is nothing.  It just means you're better than your oponent.  You can always find someone that you are better than so what's the point?  Losing is how you learn and get better.  Life is about losing, getting better, and then finding a new oponent that beats you when the first can't anymore.  I lose at everything I do and love it.  When I can't find someone that beats me, I get bored and do something else.

Getting stronger is what motivates me.

Hope this helps,

Kurt

chess is worth learning for all people, and I think the people who benefit the most from chess are those who play it for fun.  It is funny that people use something as loveable and enjoyable as chess to act like snobs.  It is seriously a turn off for people who want to enjoy a fun game without being taunted.

The OP left the site shortly after posting this topic (some six months ago).

You're obviously not a baseball fan.

As long as you are enjoying yourself, its not a waste of time.

There isn't really that much of a direct correlation between chess and general intelligence.  There are certain mental skills, like memory, pattern recognition, spacial and visualization skills, etc, that make chess easier, but a brilliant physicist isn't necessarily going to be a strong chess player, and a strong chess player might not necessarily be above average in other mental activities. 

My advice is to pick up a good begginer's book.  One I suggest is Yasser Seriwan's "Play Winning Chess".  Its very novice friendly, and it takes some of the mystery out of it.  If you can't afford to buy it, your library probably has a copy or can get one for you.  Ask the librarian for help with placing a hold if you are not familiar with using the library system.

If you can't imagine playing with a clock, then don't.  You can play online chess, also called correspondance chess.  In that version of chess you send moves back and forth by mail or email.  You can do that with your chess.com membership.  Most correspondance players have several games going at once, and you can take as much time as you need  (within reason, there are still time limits, but its in days per move, not in minutes per game).

You will likely never challenge for the world championship, but the same goes for everyone else on this site.  As long as you enjoy it, have at it.

total random response to video on post #30, I really wish I could counsel the marketing branch from axe and old spice commercials.  I know there are a lot of men who will purchase the product because the advert is funny or some actually innocently believe the product will make them irresistible, but I should think most confident men will want to buy a product because they like the smell and don't wish for the sellers to insult them with such silly slogans.  maybe I'm wrong....... I mean old spice smells good, but I think if I was a man I'd buy something else just because the commercial was so stupid. 

i think chess is for everyone and i believe it's not for someone who is intelligent nor stupid. it's for everyone who is willing to learn it, regardless of their thinking capacity. and being intelligent doesn't necessarily mean that you must know chess. here in my place, those who never entered a classroom (and doesn't even know such exists) plays better than educated ones. since they do not attend school, they spend most of their time playing and watching others play chess on streets. and guess what, they play like pros! see, just put some effort and patience. everyone begins as a noob. to learn chess you must play and learn from it.

cheers from philippines.AC

The one thing I've concluded after getting a degree at a very good engineering school is that I'm stupid as hell. And I'm an A-Class player.

^ This right here. Eventually you will be able to beat many people if you keep at it.. and you won't feel stupid then..

Checkers isn't "easier" than chess - in both games you are playing against your opponent, and if your opponent is a master who studied for thousands of hours, then you have to be a master too to beat him.  The difficulty comes from your opponent, not from the game itself.

I used to play checkers as a kid as well as chess but I found the variety of the pieces in chess to be more appealing and just kept playing chess and rarely playing checkers as time went on. Checkers gets a bad rap for its simplicity but it is a great way to learn to think deeply because of its simplicity. Try looking 10 moves deep or even more in a checkers game. Its great for calculation improvement and it'll translate into your chess calculation.

Op's been gone for two years.

Plying chess makes you smarter so yes by all means play chess if you are stupid it will help you. 

Damn, a necro post and I got caught in it.... bleh