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Title: | Does chess need intelligence? – A study with young chess players |
Authors: | Bilalić, M McLeod, P Gobet, F |
Keywords: | Chess;Verbal ability;Children;Practice;Intelligence;Memory span;Visuo-spatial ability;Speed of processing |
Issue Date: | 2007 |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Citation: | Intelligence, 35(5): 457–470, Sep–Oct 2007 |
Abstract: | Although it is widely acknowledged that chess is the best example of an intellectual activity among games, evidence showing the association between any kind of intellectual ability and chess skill has been remarkably sparse. One of the reasons is that most of the studies investigated only one factor (e.g., intelligence), neglecting other factors relevant for the acquisition of chess skill (e.g., amount of practice, years of experience). The present study investigated the chess skill of 57 young chess players using measures of intelligence (WISC III), practice, and experience. Although practice had the most influence on chess skill, intelligence explained some variance even after the inclusion of practice. When an elite subsample of 23 children was tested, it turned out that intelligence was not a significant factor in chess skill, and that, if anything, it tended to correlate negatively with chess skill. This unexpected result is explained by a negative correlation between intelligence and practice in the elite subsample. The study demonstrates the dangers of focusing on a single factor in complex real-world situations where a number of closely interconnected factors operate. |
URI: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289606001139 http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/642 |
DOI: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2006.09.005 |
Appears in Collections: | Psychology Dept of Life Sciences Research Papers |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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Does Chess Need Intelligence-revision-finalINT.pdf | 150.75 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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