Uploaded August 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
What creates a great chess player - their IQ, how they train, their personalities, their motivation? Here's my read of the existing research literature.
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00:00 Introduction
00:41 Will having a high IQ make you good at chess?
03:12 Does playing chess improve your IQ?
4:15 The influence of training
5:41 The influence of personality and motivation
6:51 The cultural context
References:
The meta-analysis of IQ/cognitive ability with chess skill is here:
Burgoyne, A. P., Sala, G., Gobet, F., Macnamara, B. N., Campitelli, G., & Hambrick, D. Z. (2016). The relationship between cognitive ability and chess skill: A comprehensive meta-analysis. Intelligence, 59, 72-83. eprints.lse.ac.uk/102241/1/INTELL_2016_117_The_Relationship_between_Cognitive_Ability_and_Chess_Skill_a_Comprehensive_Meta_Analysis.pdf
The meta-analysis on whether chess playing increases IQ is here:
Sala, G., & Gobet, F. (2017). Does far transfer exist? Negative evidence from chess, music, and working memory training. Current directions in psychological science, 26(6), 515-520. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0963721417712760
On the occasional reversal of the relationship between IQ and chess skill, see:
Bilalić, M., McLeod, P., & Gobet, F. (2007). Does chess need intelligence?—A study with young chess players. Intelligence, 35(5), 457-470. bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/642/1/Does%20Chess%20Need%20Intelligence-revision-finalINT.pdf
The meta-analysis on training and chess skill is here:
Charness, N., Tuffiash, M., Krampe, R., Reingold, E., & Vasyukova, E. (2005). The role of deliberate practice in chess expertise. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 19(2), 151-165. https://clinica.ispa.pt/ficheiros/areas_utilizador/user11/11_-_the_role_of_dp_in_chess_expertise.pdf
On chess and personality, check out:
Vollstädt-Klein, S., Grimm, O., Kirsch, P., & Bilalić, M. (2010). Personality of elite male and female chess players and its relation to chess skill. Learning and Individual Differences, 20(5), 517-521. researchgate.net/profile/Merim-Bilalic/publication/220027647_Personality_of_Elite_Male_and_Female_Chess_Players_and_its_Relation_to_Chess_Skill/links/5d49516492851cd046a5a25b/Personality-of-Elite-Male-and-Female-Chess-Players-and-its-Relation-to-Chess-Skill.pdf
The study linking chess skill, deliberate practice, and motivation is here:
De Bruin, A. B., Rikers, R. M. J. P., & Schmidt, H. G. (2007). The influence of achievement motivation and chess-specific motivation on deliberate practice. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 29(5), 561. researchgate.net/profile/Anique-De-Bruin/publication/271075262_The_Influence_of_Achievement_Motivation_and_Chess-Specific_Motivation_on_Deliberate_Practice/links/00b7d539064ca2cf43000000/The-Influence-of-Achievement-Motivation-and-Chess-Specific-Motivation-on-Deliberate-Practice.pdf
On the "domain-specificity" of expertise, the best resource is probably:
Ericsson, K. A., Hoffman, R. R., Kozbelt, A., & Williams, A. M. (Eds.). (2018). The Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance. Cambridge University Press.
But that's the best resource for a lot of the expertise literature! If you can't get your hands on it, here's an interesting article talking about how creativity (something that many people assume is domain-general) is actually quite domain-specific:
Baer, J. (2015). The importance of domain-specific expertise in creativity. Roeper Review, 37(3), 165-178. https://www.academia.edu/download/51367773/The_Importance_of_Domain_Specific_Expertise_in_Creativity.pdf
What creates a great chess player - their IQ, how they train, their personalities, their motivation? Here's my read of the existing research literature.
Join my online learning community: benjaminkeep.com/community
00:00 Introduction
00:41 Will having a high IQ make you good at chess?
03:12 Does playing chess improve your IQ?
4:15 The influence of training
5:41 The influence of personality and motivation
6:51 The cultural context
References:
The meta-analysis of IQ/cognitive ability with chess skill is here:
Burgoyne, A. P., Sala, G., Gobet, F., Macnamara, B. N., Campitelli, G., & Hambrick, D. Z. (2016). The relationship between cognitive ability and chess skill: A comprehensive meta-analysis. Intelligence, 59, 72-83. eprints.lse.ac.uk/102241/1/INTELL_2016_117_The_Relationship_between_Cognitive_Ability_and_Chess_Skill_a_Comprehensive_Meta_Analysis.pdf
The meta-analysis on whether chess playing increases IQ is here:
Sala, G., & Gobet, F. (2017). Does far transfer exist? Negative evidence from chess, music, and working memory training. Current directions in psychological science, 26(6), 515-520. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0963721417712760
On the occasional reversal of the relationship between IQ and chess skill, see:
Bilalić, M., McLeod, P., & Gobet, F. (2007). Does chess need intelligence?—A study with young chess players. Intelligence, 35(5), 457-470. bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/642/1/Does%20Chess%20Need%20Intelligence-revision-finalINT.pdf
The meta-analysis on training and chess skill is here:
Charness, N., Tuffiash, M., Krampe, R., Reingold, E., & Vasyukova, E. (2005). The role of deliberate practice in chess expertise. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 19(2), 151-165. https://clinica.ispa.pt/ficheiros/areas_utilizador/user11/11_-_the_role_of_dp_in_chess_expertise.pdf
On chess and personality, check out:
Vollstädt-Klein, S., Grimm, O., Kirsch, P., & Bilalić, M. (2010). Personality of elite male and female chess players and its relation to chess skill. Learning and Individual Differences, 20(5), 517-521. researchgate.net/profile/Merim-Bilalic/publication/220027647_Personality_of_Elite_Male_and_Female_Chess_Players_and_its_Relation_to_Chess_Skill/links/5d49516492851cd046a5a25b/Personality-of-Elite-Male-and-Female-Chess-Players-and-its-Relation-to-Chess-Skill.pdf
The study linking chess skill, deliberate practice, and motivation is here:
De Bruin, A. B., Rikers, R. M. J. P., & Schmidt, H. G. (2007). The influence of achievement motivation and chess-specific motivation on deliberate practice. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 29(5), 561. researchgate.net/profile/Anique-De-Bruin/publication/271075262_The_Influence_of_Achievement_Motivation_and_Chess-Specific_Motivation_on_Deliberate_Practice/links/00b7d539064ca2cf43000000/The-Influence-of-Achievement-Motivation-and-Chess-Specific-Motivation-on-Deliberate-Practice.pdf
On the "domain-specificity" of expertise, the best resource is probably:
Ericsson, K. A., Hoffman, R. R., Kozbelt, A., & Williams, A. M. (Eds.). (2018). The Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance. Cambridge University Press.
But that's the best resource for a lot of the expertise literature! If you can't get your hands on it, here's an interesting article talking about how creativity (something that many people assume is domain-general) is actually quite domain-specific:
Baer, J. (2015). The importance of domain-specific expertise in creativity. Roeper Review, 37(3), 165-178. https://www.academia.edu/download/51367773/The_Importance_of_Domain_Specific_Expertise_in_Creativity.pdf
