The relationship between cognitive ability and chess skill: A comprehensive meta-analysis

Why are some people more skilled in complex domains than other people? Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between cognitive ability and skill in chess. Chess skill correlated positively and significantly with fluid reasoning (Gf) ((r) over bar = 024), comprehension-knowledge (Gc) ((r) over bar = 0.22), short-term memory (Gsm) ((r) over bar = 0.25), and processing speed (Gs) ((r) over bar = 0.24); the meta-analytic average of the correlations was ((r) over bar = 024). Moreover, the correlation between Gf and chess skill was moderated by age ((r) over bar = 032 for youth samples vs. (r) over bar = 0.11 for adult samples), and skill level ((r) over bar = 032 for unranked samples vs. (r) over bar = 0.14 for ranked samples). Interestingly, chess skill correlated more strongly with numerical ability ((r) over bar = 035) than with verbal ability ((r) over bar = 0.19) or visuospatial ability ((r) over bar = 0.13). The results suggest that cognitive ability contributes meaningfully to individual differences in chess skill, particularly in young chess players and/or at lower levels of skill. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.