Would you think of a chess maestro as a super intelligent human being?

Would you think of a chess maestro as a super intelligent human being? Or do you think he just a nerd who has practised a few tactics and with some positional understanding and as good as any other layman?

Please don't give the short answers like: "Yes, i consider him intelligent " or likewise. Please give good reasoned answers.

Nope.

Would you consider a computer chess program more intelligent than a Grandmaster simply because it can defeat him or her 99.9% of the time? I don't think so. Likewise, would you consider a craftsman more intelligent than someone who has not practiced the craft? I wouldn't.

Even for those that share the same interests, there are numerous reasons they don't reach the same levels of Mastery and the majority of those reasons have nothing to do with intelligence.

Face it, most of us are dabblers, distracted by other interests and responsibilities who will never reach the highest standards of chess play. That does not have anything to do with intelligence or drive but is a reflection of our priorities. I think the truely intelligent person is the one who looks at the price of success and pays only that price and no more.

PawnCustodian wrote:Nope.

Face it, most of us are dabblers, distracted by other interests and responsibilities who will never reach the highest standards of chess play. That does not have anything to do with intelligence or drive but is a reflection of our priorities. I think the truely intelligent person is the one who looks at the price of success and pays only that price and no more.

I agree with you on the above point, and so if we wanna be serious on chess, we have to make sure not become a dilettantes.

Chess always remains an enigma to me, from the intelligence perspective. A person can be considered as intelligent if they have logic and reasoning, and chess certainly needs that. So we should consider them as intelligent, however if we see kids as young as 9 beating GMs, and much older people, then are the kids more mature and intelligent than an adult? Certainly not.

Definitely NOT. Chess skill not indicative of intelligence. Intelligence encompasses all of the mind. Chess skill is just one small ability that has a mental nature. One can be a social retard, who has no common sense at all, yet still be able to play good chess. I know many people like this. I also have known several people who are extremely intelligent, but have zero chess skills.

I respect players ability to play chess, but I do not associate a strong player with them being a smart person.

BorgQueen wrote:Definitely NOT. Chess skill not indicative of intelligence. Intelligence encompasses all of the mind. Chess skill is just one small ability that has a mental nature. One can be a social retard, who has no common sense at all, yet still be able to play good chess. I know many people like this. I also have known several people who are extremely intelligent, but have zero chess skills.

I respect players ability to play chess, but I do not associate a strong player with them being a smart person.

Agreed, i know a person in FICS who logges in as guest, he is serving prison sentence in dungeon for unsound mental condition and crime of burning a gorilla

I will say, there is no full-proof test yet discovered that can reflect a person's true intellectual ability.