I boot up the laptop, fire on the herb, and begin my nightly set of blitz games. I understand, I hear it's bad for your chess. But is that true? Like really? How does one expect me to believe that if I do something over and over again I won't get better at it? Everything else in life seems to suggest that repeated practice of any endeavor typically yields gains in proficiency.
Besides, I love blitz. The speed and intensity overrule the relatively shallow calculations. At least for me.
I am a man of 39 years. I am entering the back half of this life. Soon as the years progress I won't be able to process quickly. I will either decline in skill or reach a point I will stay at until life leaves me. But that's ok! Mainly due to this belief I can't shake that chess stimulates the mind, and that stimulation may have benefits. Consider an athlete who trains his or her body for years. Would this person not be healthy and expected to live a long life? Of course they would. But how does one exercise the mind?
Well, chess is the gymnasium of the mind. An arena where rank or status matter not. Only wits and cunning.
If you exercise the mind regularly, could there not be some sort of benefit beyond simply just neuro-protective factors?
Could there even be perceptual changes, minute maybe, subtle in a way that you don't truly notice. Since, well, you don't have a frame of reference but yourself.
